Chanko Nabe - Sumo Stew

Sumo Wrestlers typically live in training stables. Any dishes cooked by sumo wrestlers at sumo stables are called ‘chanko’. If they cook a ramen, it becomes chanko ramen. If they cook a hot pot, or stew, it's a nabe, hence it is Chanko Nabe.

Chanko Nabe - Sumo Stew

Serves 4 regular people, or one sumo wrestler!

This is an easy recipe, and it was fun to prepare. It simply took time to bring it all together. It's very tasty!

Ingredients:

Meats:

10-12 oz lean sirloin steak
7-8 frozen turkey meatballs, thawed for baking

Broth:

1 Tbsp Dashi Powder
5 cups of water
4 Tbsp (ie, 1/4 cup) Soy Sauce*
4 Tbsp (ie, 1/4 cup) Sake**
4 Tbsp (ie, 1/4 cup) Mirin
1 tsp salt
1 8-oz package Shirataki Tofu Angel Hair noodles, or something similar (a long, thin, clear, cellophane-style & look is what you want)

Stew:

2 slices of green cabbage, approx. 1-1/2” wide (similar to slicing through the cabbage to cut cabbage steaks). Cut the slices into 1-1/2” to 2” lengths.
4 oz snow peas, sliced diagonally in half
1 8-oz can of water chestnuts
6 green onions, cleaned & sliced on the diagonal, using both the white and green parts
8-10 baby carrots, sliced in rounds
1 cup of sliced baby portabella or white mushrooms
8-oz mung bean sprouts

Directions:

Meats:

Season the sirloin steak with black pepper, salt, dried basil, and garlic powder. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Check the steak to see if it’s done to the medium level -thin pink line in the middle. If not done enough, bake for a few more minutes, checking often. When the steak is baked through, cool & slice thinly and cut the slices into approx. 1-1/2” sections.

Bake the meatballs at 375 degrees also for 15-20 minutes. Meatballs can be baked at the same time as the steaks. When the meatballs are baked through, cool & cut into quarters.

Broth:

Bring the 5 cups of water and 1 Tbsp of Dashi powder to a boil. Add the soy sauce*, sake, mirin, and salt.

Read package directions on the noodles. You will likely need to drain the noodles in a colander, rinse them under cool water, and then boil them for up to 3 minutes. After following the noodle prep directions, add them to the broth. Bring the broth back to a boil, and then lower the heat to a low simmer.

Assembling the Stew:

Add the cabbage, snow peas, water chestnuts, green onions, and baby carrots to the warm broth.

Bring the broth to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes – baby carrots should be getting soft. Add the mushrooms, bean sprouts, and the meat – it’s all cooked, so you’re mostly warming it up and allowing flavors to blend.

Note: If you notice, after all ingredients are in the pot, that there’s not as much broth as you’d like, to make a brothy soup, add 2-1/2 cups of water, 1/2 Tbsp of Dashi powder, 2 Tbsp soy sauce*, 2 Tbsp Sake**, 2 Tbsp Mirin, and a 1/2 tsp of salt. This will blend right in with the broth already in the pot.

Note: * Reduced sodium soy sauce, or coconut aminos can be used in place of regular soy sauce. ** Cooking sherry can be used in place of the Sake.