This stew is based on a hot pot variant called “Ishikari Nabe”.

I first discovered this hot pot watching a video from Cooking With Dog. Made from a delicious broth of konbu, salmon, potato, and miso, this broth is poured into an ingredient-packed stone pot and served in the center of a table with extra ingredients on the side to add as you eat.

Hot pot meals are incredibly fun and I’ve done my fair share and variety of them in our home. But hot pots are more for special events than for everyday meals and I didn’t see why such a delicious and flavorful stew needed to be reserved for family sit-down meals only.

My variant is a separate one-pot stew that starts with similar flavors of salmon, potato and miso. This method, while not as aesthetic pleasing and communal as Cooking With Dog’s hot pot recipe, is easy to do on a weeknight and fills your belly with warm, hearty, and nutritious food. Leftovers are just as good the next day too.

Salmon Miso Stew (Ishikari Nabe)

A hearty and nutritious salmon and miso based stew

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Course Main Course, One-Pot Meal

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4

Equipment

1 large pot

Ingredients

3-4 cups dashi stock see notes on making dashi
1-2 TBSP sake
1/2 lb salmon cut into cubes
1/2 lb daikon cut into quarter moons
1 medium potato cut into cubes
2-3 TBSP white miso paste

Optional Additional Ingredients

3-4 napa leaves diced or chopped into bite-size pieces
bok choy
shiitake mushrooms
green onions
tofu cut into cubes
enoki mushrooms

Instructions

Marinate salmon in sake for at least 1 hour. This will help remove any unwanted fishy smell or taste
1-2 TBSP sake, 1/2 lb salmon
In a large pot, bring dashi stock to a boil.
3-4 cups dashi stock
Add salmon, potato, and daikon then continue to cook on high until pot returns to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer and let cook for ~10-15 minutes. Use a spoon or a sieve to skim off the white foam that floats to the top. This will help remove any bitterness or fishy taste from the soup.
1/2 lb salmon, 1 medium potato, 1/2 lb daikon
Add any other ingredients being used and return to a simmer. About 5 minutes.
3-4 napa leaves, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, tofu, enoki mushrooms, bok choy
Take a ladle of the dashi stock out and mix the miso paste in the stock until dissolved. Pour the diluted miso paste back into the pot and allow to continue simmering. About 5 minutes. Try to avoid letting this come to a full boil in order to avoid killing the probiotics in the miso. If it happens, though. That's OK. It won't ruin the flavor and other nutrients of the soup.
2-3 TBSP white miso paste
Ladle into bowls and serve!

Notes

For dashi stock, the best way is to have some pre-made ahead of time and ready to use in the fridge (see my overnight dashi stock recipe for an easy way to have some always in supply!). If you don’t have this, you can start this recipe by first soaking a 6″ x 6″ piece of konbu in water and letting it come to a simmer for <20 min (try not to let it boil. Konbu can create a bitter flavor if cooked too hot, but IMO it’s not the end of the world if happens. I don’t notice THAT big of a difference between boiled konbu and simmered). Remove the konbu and use the broth to start this recipe.

Chicken broth can be used a substitute, but it will alter the flavor of the dish. So will vegetable stock. Water may be the best alternative, but that dashi stock really adds a nice umami undertone to the whole meal that’s hard to replace.

Keyword nutritious, one-pot meal, paleo