I broke a steamer basket making this dish. One use, and it was done — a $3 one from a 100-yen shop, which in hindsight was exactly what I paid for.
But the dish itself is worth the story. It’s called mille-feuille nabe — “thousand-leaf” hot pot — and it’s one of those things that looks far more complicated than it actually is.
What you need
- Daikon radish, thinly sliced (a mandoline or slicer makes this fast)
- Carrot, thinly sliced the same way
- Thinly sliced pork belly
- Salt and pepper
- Ponzu, for serving
How I make it
Slice the daikon and carrot thin with a slicer — I use a Benriner mandoline for this, since getting the daikon paper-thin is what makes the rolls hold together well.
Lay a strip of pork belly flat, place a little pile of daikon and carrot at one end, and roll it up — the vegetables end up tucked inside a spiral of meat, which is where the “thousand layers” look comes from.
Stand the rolls upright in a steamer basket, packed in next to each other so they hold their shape. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then steam over boiling water until the pork is fully cooked through — the rolls go from pink to golden, and the vegetables inside soften but keep a little bite.
Serve straight out of the steamer, and dip each roll in ponzu before eating. The citrus cuts through the richness of the pork belly, which is really the whole point of this dish — it’s a hot pot built to feel lighter than it looks.
A word on the steamer: don’t do what I did and grab the cheapest one you can find. Mine came apart after a single use. If you’re going to make this more than once, a proper bamboo steamer basket is worth the extra few dollars.
And if you don’t already have a slicer, ponzu, or a steamer that won’t fall apart:
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