Momiji Nabe (Deer Hot Pot)

Prepare the dashi stock: Place kombu and water in a large pot. Heat over medium-low heat until just before boiling (small bubbles appear). Remove kombu. Bring water to a boil, then turn off heat and add katsuobushi. Let steep for 5 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard katsuobushi. This yields approximately 900g of dashi stock.

Prepare vegetables: Cut firm tofu into 3cm cubes. Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms and score their caps decoratively. Trim root ends from enoki mushrooms and separate them. Cut napa cabbage into 5cm pieces. Cut scallions diagonally into 3cm pieces. Peel and thinly slice carrots and daikon radish. Wash and trim shungiku.

Prepare the broth: In a separate bowl, dissolve awase miso with a small amount of the prepared dashi stock until smooth. Add the dissolved awase miso, sake, mirin, and koikuchi shoyu to the dashi stock in the nabe pot. Bring the broth to a gentle simmer.