Cooks' Books by Lisa Messinger

"Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals" by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat (Ten Speed, $25)

Sometimes, I find myself planning my route home from work so that I will make it before it's closing time at my favorite Japanese takeout spot. I like to stock up for the next day on huge steaming bowls of udon noodles, seafood, vegetables and seasoned broth that are some of the most tasty and hearty meals I've ever eaten.

Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat's new book "Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals" has shown me that I can drive straight home and still have the same results. Since the finished dishes are so simple and straightforward, their advice is a terrific way for the uninitiated to learn lots of the basics of Japanese cooking.

First off, just what is a Japanese hot pot? Even those who gladly sip them in restaurants can benefit from a formal definition:

"Japanese hot pots are a delicious medley of foods poached in broth inside a single cooking vessel, a tempting combination of vegetables, tofu, noodles, seafood, poultry or meat. They're usually enjoyed in the colder months [my last craving/restaurant pit stop was in the dead of this summer!], but many of these dishes are also eaten year-round," writes Ono, the executive chef of Matsuri in New York City, and Salat, who has written about food for the New York Times.

"They evolved in Japan as wholesome, economical and complete one-pot meals, especially with rice or noodles added at the finish as is customary. Compared to Western foods, they're heartier than soup, but not as dense as stew."

Next will come a glossary of terms like dashi (meaning broth, specifically the classic stock of kombu and dried bonito — a type of tuna) and ingredients like shichimi togarashi, a popular seven-blend spice including sesame seeds, mustard sees and citrus peel.

If you are a fan of restaurant hot pots, you'll know already that a trip to the Asian market will be well worth it to stock up for the recipes; if not, it may behoove you to try a dish prepared by a professional chef first to drive up your motivation. Many ingredients will probably be new, but lots are universally well known, such as tofu, miso, sake, mirin, soy sauce, daikon and wasabi.

The payoff is 50 variations, many more than will be found on virtually any single menu, which usually only feature a few. Yellowtail soaks up lots of flavor in a mirin, soy sauce, mushroom and dashi filled pot. A chicken curry hot pot is spicy not only from curry powder, but also from garlic, sake and fresh ginger. A chicken and whole milk pot is creamy with mirin, fresh ginger, enoki mushrooms, kombu (a naturally preserved kelp that thickens and flavors) and negi (what the authors call a "remarkable onion with a sharp, acidic taste when raw that turns sweet and tender when simmered.")

There are lots of sweet ingredient twists like that which emerge only from the long cooking process. Best of all, just like Japanese home cooks for centuries, you'll probably find the genre economical, hearty and worthy of being passed down for many generations to come.

DASHI

8 cups water, plus 2 tablespoons water

2 (6-inch) pieces kombu (see Note)

1 1/2 ounces dried, shaved bonito, about 3 packed cups (see Note)

Yields about 6 cups.

Add the 8 cups of water and the kombu to a large stockpot and let it steep for 30 minutes.

Place the stockpot over medium heat and bring it to a boil.

Remove the kombu. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons water. Add the bonito and stir it once to mix in. As soon as the liquid boils again, decrease the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Carefully remove any scum that appears on the surface; it can affect flavor.

Turn off the heat and let the liquid steep for 15 minutes. Carefully strain the liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Don't squeeze the bonito flakes. Discard the bonito flakes after using.

Note: Available at many Asian markets.

YELLOWTAIL AND DAIKON HOT POT

1 pound daikon, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces

2 cups dashi

2 cups water

2/3 cup mirin

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 pound napa cabbage, sliced

1/2 package (about 1/2 pound) firm tofu, cut into 8 slices

1 negi, sliced on an angle into 2-inch pieces (see Note)

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms (about 8 pieces), stemmed and caps halved

1 pound yellowtail fillet, cut into 1-inch-thick slices (or swordfish, mahi-mahi, mako shark, Spanish mackerel, mackerel, sardines or pompano)

2 cups shungiku leaves, stemmed (see Note)

Udon noodles, for serving, optional (see Note)

Sansho, for accent (see Note)

Yields 4 servings.

Add the daikon to a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease heat to medium and cook the daikon until it's tender, about 15 minutes. (Test by inserting a chopstick through the daikon. When the chopstick goes in easily, it's done.) Carefully transfer the daikon to a colander and cool under running water; reserve.

Prepare the broth by combining the dashi, the 2 cups water, mirin and soy sauce in a bowl; set aside.

Place the cabbage on the bottom of a hot pot. Add the tofu, daikon, negi and shiitake mushrooms on top of the cabbage, arranging each ingredient in a separate, neat bunch. Pour in the reserved broth.

Cover the hot pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Uncover the pot and place the yellowtail on top of the other ingredients. When the broth returns to a boil, decrease the heat to medium. Simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the shungiku leaves and cook for 2 minutes more.

Carefully transfer the hot pot to the dining table. Serve the ingredients together with the broth, adding udon if desired and accenting with sansho.

Note: Available in many Asian markets.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After-Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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