Numazu Rie’s Hot Pot for One: An Easy Way to Stay Healthy by Eating a Variety of Fermented Foods

Autumn is a time to be particularly aware of the importance of diet to developing a healthy physique. Winter with its many ailments is just around the corner. So it’s a good idea to stay healthy by making sensible use of seasonal ingredients and fermented foods in your meals.

Here culinary expert and registered dietitian Numazu Rie shares two recipes for fermented hot pot for one, a simple, delicious source of seasonal ingredients and fermented foods. And it has many other benefits to boot. Rie also tells us about akazake or “red sake,” a fermented seasoning from her native Kumamoto.

Get into the habit of eating a variety of fermented foods daily.

“As a registered dietitian,” says Rie, “I’d advise people to boost their immune system in readiness for the coming cold season by eating balanced meals.”
That means using highly nutritious seasonal ingredients. Plus fermented foods also have a key role to play.

“They’re each fermented by different microbes and contain different nutrients. Rather than eating the same fermented foods all the time, it’s better to vary them from day to day and meal to meal. You only need to get a little of each.”

Start with whatever fermented foods you currently have in the fridge: miso, cheese, kimchi, natto, or whatever. “There must be things you eat regularly that you don’t even realize are fermented, like anchovies or whole-grain mustard. Fermented foods bring out the flavor of other foods, so they make a simple yet delicious seasoning. You don’t need to add anything else. Once you get into the habit of combining fermented foods with seasonal ingredients as an umami enhancer, you’ll find yourself eating a healthy diet without even thinking about it.”

Fermented hot pot for one: simple, convenient, and super nutritious.

As a way to get into the habit of eating fermented foods, Rie recommends her chunky fermented hot pot for one. You can prepare it in no time, even on the busiest of days. All you do is cut the ingredients, stick them in a small pot with seasoning, and put the pot on the stove. And it gets top marks for nutrition and flavor, especially when made with seasonal vegetables, meat or another source of protein, and umami-packed fermented ingredients.

“It has another advantage as well. On days when the whole family can’t eat together, you can just stick it in the fridge with all the ingredients ready to cook. Then it can be heated and eaten whenever it’s wanted. I often make it for my kids in university. I’d feel bad asking them to zap something in the microwave for dinner, but this hot pot is steaming hot and delicious and tells them I love them [laughs].”

There’s another great thing about hot pot for one. Unlike a big communal hot pot, it lets each member of the family choose whatever ingredients and flavoring they prefer. “Not only do you get to enjoy fermented hot pot staples like kimchi or soybean milk and miso or sake lees; with hot pot for one, you can come up with your own personalized meal.”

Here are two of Rie’s recipes for hot pot for one. Cheese fondue hot pot for one is made with mushrooms—a quintessential autumn favorite—and two fermented foods, cheese and white wine. Pot-au-feu for one combines the sweetness of root vegetables with the umami flavors of pork and salted koji (rice malt).

Recipe for cheese fondue hot pot for one with mushrooms

Recipe for salted koji pot-au-feu for one with pork and root vegetables

Flavor hacks & other ideas for getting more enjoyment out of hot pot for one

A way to make hot pot more fun is to take the flavor in new directions by adding different ingredients and seasonings. “If you’re looking for a flavor hack, why not try adding something fermented? There are all kinds of things that would go well with cheese fondue hot pot, for example: kimchi and chili bean sauce, miso, chili bean sauce, yuzu pepper—you name it. Experiment with whatever comes to mind. Coming up with new ideas with your kids will develop their interest in food.”

Cheese fondu hot pot topped with kimchi. Kimchi makes a great combination with cheese, and it instantly gives this European-style dish a Korean twist.

Hot pot is even more satisfying when you finish up by adding rice or noodles to the pot so you get some carbs as well. “All the nutrients are dissolved in the broth, and eating something starchy at the end lets you enjoy every last drop.”

Sprouted brown rice can be added to pot-au-feu to create a kind of risotto.
That way you get to enjoy every last drop of the broth.

Akazake, the elegant-tasting cooking sake from Kumamoto

“I’m fascinated by seasonings made from simple ingredients fermented the right way,” says Rie. She’s especially fond of akazake or “red sake”, a traditional cooking sake from her native Kumamoto. Even now, she couldn’t do without it in the kitchen.

Akazake is made using an unusual traditional technique. The process of fermenting rice to produce the moromi or sake mash is the same as for regular sake. But then wood ash is added. Because of the ash, akazake is—unusually for a sake—mildly alkaline, resulting in a longer shelf life. In Kumamoto, akazake has since olden times been enjoyed with spices at the New Year and offered to the gods.

Because alcoholic fermentation of the sake mash proceeds simultaneously with saccharification, sweetness and umami are fused into one. “In the typical Kumamoto home, akazake is used in place of mirin, the sweetened sake generally used in Japanese cooking. In Kumamoto, fried rice made with akazake is considered the taste of home. Just add a little akazake, and it leaves rice amazingly flaky. It results in a slightly sweet fried rice, which is what I still make today.”

Tohi Akazake for Cooking made by Zuiyo. It’s red and mildly alkaline.