Mizutaki :: 水炊き

Bought the husband a new year dinner at Torikin. I thought a chicken hotpot (mizutaki 水炊き) sounded fabulous on a rainy evening. It was impromptu decision since we would have to ditch Smol Girl. The weather cooperated. The thunder cleared out and by 6pm, the drizzle remained light. Took an antihistamine and off we went. 

There was chicken skin in batter and ponzu, of which I'll skip it the next time. Braised chicken skin in soy is much more my thing. Haha. There were oysters for the husband too. I had to have the marinated squid and mentaiko. It went superb with the chicken meat. It was pretty much half a chicken for the both of us — each had a piece of breast, a drum stick and a thigh. Of course I gave away the drum stick and the breast meat. I didn't need that much chicken. 

After all these, I was looking forward to the soup with the vegetables. I loved that! Never mind that it was pure chicken collagen and stock. It still tasted fine; this iteration doesn't bother with much salt. The minced chicken was marinated and made into balls. Didn't mind the meatballs as well since I already had an antihistamine. 

Opted for porridge at the end of the meal. The server was experienced enough to leave the right volume of soup in the pot to finish up with our choice of carbs. One bowl of rice for both of us was the perfect portion. We totally appreciated the server boiling up everything for us and cooking that porridge. Loved it that it came with egg and nori. 

The man was still greedy for a small bite, so he ordered the grilled pork trotters that arrived just as the porridge was ready. I wasn't sure if we could finish this much food. But the portion of pork trotter was small and easy to eat. Pork and porridge went so well together. Mmmmm. Next time I must order this dish.

The husband was seriously thrilled with the meal. He hadn't had mizutaki for a while, and he loves chicken collagen soup. Tonight's dinner totally hit all the right spots on a dreary rainy day. Everything was washed down with highballs and finally a hojicha. We ate early and went home early to a rather happy Smol Girl.