JAPANESE RESTAURANTS -- NABEMONO (QUICK-COOKED STEWS)
   ____________________________________________________________

   Nabemono dishes are a hearty wintertime specialty, prepared from fish,
   seafood, chicken, meat and/or vegetables in a bubbling cauldron right
   at your table. Serving trays piled high with raw ingredients arrive at
   the table, then everyone pitches in with the cooking, finally eating
   together out of the communal pot. Nabemono restaurants are very
   down-to-earth places, usually with a rustic decor reflecting
   nabemono's origins in Japan's rural farming regions. Nabemono are also
   served in pub-style izakaya restaurants, in places specializing in 
   regional cuisines, and in private homes.
   There are many different types of nabemono, depending on the   
   ingredients used. Oysters, scallops, cod, salmon, turtle, and chicken
   are all popular. Chanko-nabe, a variety made with chicken, seafood,
   potatoes, and other vegetables, is the staple diet of Japan's sumo
   wrestlers. (It's quite filling, as you might expect.) Another special
   type of nabemono is the internationally known beef sukiyaki.
  
   Since nabe dishes are cooked quickly, the individual ingredients
   maintain their flavor and identity. Diners can enjoy a succession of
   different tastes and textures as various vegetables and pieces of
   seafood are pulled out of the pot and eaten. As the meal progresses,  
   the cooking liquid absorbs more and more flavors from the foods being
   cooked. 
   
   Eating Nabemono
   
   Dining on nabemono in a restaurant is a participatory experience, 
   since everyone at the table does the cooking. Each table is equipped
   with a small gas burner (or a portable charcoal hibachi burner at
   traditional restaurants). The burner is lit and a big pot of cooking
   broth is set on top. Once the liquid starts bubbling you can add food
   to the pot piece by piece. Fish, prawns, and various mushrooms and   
   fungi should be added first, since they take the longest to cook. Very
   crisp vegetables, such as carrots, can also be added at this stage.
   Seasonings such as scallions, grated radish, and red pepper are added
   to your own private dish of ponzu-tare (a citrus-flavored soy-based
   dip) rather than to the communal pot.
   
   The most delicate ingredients (such as tofu and chrysanthemum leaves)
   should be cooked just before you eat them. Watch them carefully and
   pull them out quickly, otherwise they'll overcook and fall apart. The
   meal will usually end with udon noodles or rice -- these are added to
   the pot to soak up the remaining liquid, which is by then quite
   flavorful. One more cooking tip -- usually there's a wooden spoon that
   you can use to skim the foam off the top of the bubbling liquid.

   Nabemono dishes are most popular in the late fall and winter months. A
   few varieties like beef sukiyaki can be found all year round. Exotic
   meats such as wild boar, venison, and horsemeat are often cooked 
   nabemono-style, and these can be found in Japanese regional
   restaurants. 
   
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
  NABEMONO SAMPLE MENU
   
   Note: Uppercase letters represent long vowel sounds. (See
   pronunciation guide below.)
   
      Typical nabe dishes 
   
   sukiyaki
          thinly sliced beef and vegetables
   
   shabu-shabu
          thinly sliced beef, quick-cooked in a watery broth
   
   yose-nabe
          vegetable and seafood (and/or chicken) stew 
   
   chiri-nabefish and vegetable stew
     
   tara (chiri)-nabe
       codfish and vegetable stew

   kaki-nabe
          oyster and vegetable stew

   dote-nabeoyster and vegetable stew with _miso_ (soybean paste)
   
   mizutakichicken and vegetable stew
   
   yanagawa-nabe stew made from loach, burdock root, and egg
   
   dojO-nabesame as yanagawa-nabe
   
   yudOfu tofu boiled in hot water
   
   udon-sukibroad udon noodles and fish stew
   
   ankO-nabeangler-fish stew
   
   kamo-nabeduck (or dark-meat chicken) stew
   
   suppon-nabesoft-shelled turtle stew
   
   ishikari-nabesalmon and vegetable stew with _miso_ (soybean paste) and
          butter
   sakura-nabe
          horsemeat stew
   botan-nabe
          wild boar stew
   inoshishi-nabe
          same as botan-nabeChanko-nabe
   
   chanko-nabe a hearty, heavy stew made from various ingredients and
   popular with sumo wrestlers

     * tori-niku -- with chicken
     * sakana -- with fish
     * buta-niku -- with pork
     * ebi -- with shrimp
     * gyU-niku -- with beef
   
      Other vocabulary  

   Osui-rice porridge (sometimes added to broth at the end of the meal

   udonbroad noodles (sometimes added at end of meal)

   ____________________________________________________________