Dobin Mushi
….It’s a Japanese dish where various ingredients are placed in a teapot and steamed before eating. It’s a representative autumn dish in Japan. A long time ago, I caught a glimpse of a dish being served in a teapot at a nearby table in a Japanese restaurant. I thought it was sake when I saw someone drinking the broth from a small cup, but I became curious when I noticed them opening the lid and taking out something to eat. Furthermore, when I saw a small child drinking the broth, I was sure it wasn’t sake, so I bravely asked the diners about the dish. I’m still grateful to the guests at that table for explaining it to me in detail. It turned out to be a dish called “dobin mushi.”
Here where I live, matsutake mushrooms can also be found in Japanese markets as autumn begins. While their aroma isn’t as strong as the wild matsutake in Korea, they still have a subtly pleasant pine scent that makes me look forward to autumn. By adding various ingredients to the teapot and steaming them, the flavors blend harmoniously, creating a comforting taste.
The matsutake I found here had a mild aroma, so I first lightly boiled the shrimp to avoid overpowering it. I also seared the sea bream with a torch to eliminate any fishy taste, then placed everything in a clay teapot to steam together with katsuobushi broth. I chose mitsuba, a Japanese vegetable, as a garnish, which made it even more authentically Japanese.
Although I didn’t have a proper Japanese tea teapot and had to use the one I had, which created a bit of distance, it still became my own version of dobin mushi. My husband, however, remarked on the delightful aroma of the matsutake and broth coming from the teapot and thanked me for it. This autumn, be sure to try some wonderful matsutake dishes!
Servings: 2
Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 150- 200 g matsutake mushrooms, dusted it off and tear into eight pieces
- 150 g of sea bream fillet, cut into four pieces
- 600 ml katsuobushi broth
- 5 shrimps
- 5 ginkgos
- some mitsuba for garnish
- 1 tsp gukganjang
- sliced yuzu
- 4 cups water
- 1 tbsp sake
Cooking Instruction:
- Heat a pot over medium-high heat and add the water and sake. Then, add the shrimp to the pot.
2. When the shrimp starts to turn pink, turn off the heat, cover it with a lid, and leave it as is for 30 minutes.
3. Take out the shrimp after 30 minutes, remove the shells, and set them aside.
4. Clean the matsutake mushrooms thoroughly, make cuts near the cap, and tear them lengthwise.
5. Cut the fillet of sea bream into four pieces and lightly sear both sides with a torch.
6. Heat a pot over medium heat and add the katsuobushi broth, gukganjang, sea bream, and matsutake mushrooms. Turn off the heat as soon as the pot starts to boil.
7. Place the cooked shrimp, sea bream, matsutake mushrooms, and ginkgo nuts into a serving teapot. Pour in the lightly simmered katsuobushi broth, cover with a lid, and steam in a steamer for 20 minutes.
8. After 20 minutes, turn off the steamer.
9. Place the teapot on the counter and add some mitsuba to the teapot.
10. Serve it with yuzu and a teacup.
11. Pour the hot soup into a teacup, add pieces of yuzu, and drink. It’s good to eat the solid ingredients separately.
You can also view this recipe on Instagram.
