Nabemono (鍋物, なべ物)

With the right mix of dietary habits of humans who will make a table, a meal of hotpot/steamboat can be awesome. It's always embarrassing to decline invitations to hotpot because we know the venue has only one pot available or that all but one of the guests is a meat-eater or a vegetarian. It can be awkward. 

Before the friends flew out on a work trip, they decided to host a meal of nabemono. They told us to come over and not bring anything. We said yes immediately. It was going to be great. 50% of the guests on the table are omnivores, and the other half does seafood. No awkwardness there or a terrible guilt because the hosts went out of their way for us. The huge dinner table was happily laden with apparatus for the meal. Our considerate hosts had readied 2 pots to cater to the dietary preferences at the table- one for seafood and one for meat. Very heartwarming. 

Dusk was swirling in as we arrived at the friends' beautiful apartment. Caught the last bits of daylight across the luxuriant view from their balcony. A strong continuous breeze stirred, making air-conditioning quite unnecessary, a welcome surprise from the usual heat and humidity. There were bottles of happy summer ale. We contributed pre-dinner cocktails, and set about whipping up glasses of deceptively refreshing iced tea.  

Tiong Bahru Estate and bits of the city skyline.

We couldn't turn up empty-handed. We brought a slab of cured hamachi that wasn't too horrid. Snugly cling-wrapped on a bed of ice, the fish travelled well. A short car ride. A cutting board and sashimi knife were brought along to the hosts' kitchen to slice up the fish. On a whim, we made an edamame dip. It somehow complemented the meal. 

As in traditional nabemono, kombu was used as a base for the soup, along with a touch of dashi and sprinkled with shiso. Plenty of meats from different regions to provide different flavors to bite. A truckload of mushrooms. Mizuna, komatsuna, Chinese cabbage, gindara, sea bass, and plenty of other ingredients (udon and all) and dips made for a tasty meal. The broth at the end of the meal was delicious with its subtle light flavors infused from all that we had dunked in. When we finally had enough food, 3 hours had flown by! Everyone chipped in with the washing up. 

Dessert wasn't possible to be ingested immediately. Even with all the washing, the food hadn't totally digested in our stomachs. There was an attractive strawberry shortcake which would have to wait for a little while before we attempted it. For once, we didn't roll out the guitars or the keyboards, but were content to just sit and continue the conversation. 

Bottles of shōchū were brought out. I decided to skip whisky in favor of trying them. I don't know anything about shōchū. How wonderful to be introduced to the different bottles of what would be quality shōchū instead of the painfully rough ones that I end up ordering because I don't know any better. 

The hosts poured out drinks in ascending order of alcohol strength and whatever that would complement dinner, and after dinner drinks. They were pretty tasty, on the rocks! Learnt a fair bit, at least whatever the brain could absorb without extensive googling. Single and multiple distilling; Sobajōchū (buckwheat), otsurui shōchū (rice and barley), kōrui shōchū (sweet potato, potato or corn). What a proper introduction! Now, my impression of shōchū has vastly improved, although the knowledge gleaned is insufficient to order on my own. I'd still need someone who knows the drink to advise on which sort to get. Fairly certain the barley is my favorite.

From left: buckwheat, barley and sweet potato.