Our cookbook of the week is Simply Donabe by Naoko Takei Moore.
Jump to the recipes: sake-steamed salmon and kale over buttery sweet potato, miso-simmered ramen and green beans in walnut miso cream.
Cookbook author Naoko Takei Moore has nearly 30 donabe to choose from in her home kitchen. Japanese cooks have used the clay pot for centuries. “It’s almost like our national cookware,” she says. But more than a cooking vessel, as Takei Moore writes in her third book, Simply Donabe (Quadrille, 2026), it’s “a way of life.”
As true today as it was in her childhood home in Tokyo in the 1980s, when a communal donabe meal was synonymous with family bonding, Takei Moore says that this way of cooking brings people together. But she also welcomes it as a personal ritual. “It’s always just me and my thoughts, and then my donabe. To me, it’s a really special, almost spiritual time. I communicate with the donabe. You can focus, and you feel so grounded. I enjoy cooking a one-pot, single-serving meal as much as I do cooking a large meal to share with people.”
This communication sometimes begins before Takei Moore has even decided on a dish or ingredients. “The first communication is like, ‘Who wants to have a relationship with me for this meal?” she says, laughing. “All the donabe are like my children. I love each piece equally, but sometimes I use one donabe more often than the other. So, I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t want you to feel neglected.’ That’s how I often start. I often start not by what to cook, but by looking at the donabe, and deciding what donabe to use.”
The book is an ode to Japanese one-pot cooking, with chapters following the flow of a meal: appetizers and side dishes, main dishes, rice and noodles, and dessert. For each recipe, Takei Moore specifies the type of donabe and suggests an alternative vessel, showing that you don’t need an earthenware pot to embrace this style of home cooking.
“It doesn’t matter if you have an old aluminum pot or a small pan. That’s OK. What’s most important is the spirit of donabe cooking.”
Born in Yokohama and raised in Tokyo, Takei Moore has fond memories of her mother’s cooking. “My mom was an amazing cook, and we loved cooking and eating at home a lot, and it was very natural for me to get into cooking and food in general.”
Takei Moore’s father was an editor for a magazine and worked long hours. On weekends, the family would gather, usually for a donabe meal. One of Takei Moore’s earliest cooking memories was preparing yose-nabe hotpot, adding ingredients to the donabe sitting in the centre of the table. “That made me feel like, ‘I’m cooking. I’m part of this.’ That’s how I got into cooking,” she recalls.
Simply Donabe is Naoko Takei Moore’s third book.
As she got older, Takei Moore realized how central donabe is to connection. In conversation, people use the word “nabe,” which means “pot.” But it doesn’t only refer to the vessel or what you cook in it. If you say, “Let’s nabe sometime,” it means, “I want to get to know you better,” she explains.
In 2008, after moving to California to attend culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu following a career in the music industry in the U.K., Takei Moore founded the shop TOIRO. She initially sold handmade donabe out of her home and, in 2017, expanded into a brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles, where she sells kitchen tools and tableware imported from all over Japan.
Widely credited for introducing Japanese clay-pot cooking to an English-speaking audience, Takei Moore wrote her first book devoted to the subject, Donabe (Ten Speed Press), in 2015.
When she moved to North America, Takei Moore says, “Japanese home cooking was kind of untouched.” Foods such as sushi, tempura and ramen were popular, but many people from outside the culture assumed you needed special skills or ingredients to cook Japanese dishes at home. “I really wanted to demystify that, too.”
The donabe may be commonplace in her homeland — “almost every household in Japan owns at least one” — but it was “virtually unknown,” except for people with a Japanese or other Asian background, adds Takei Moore.
As in her previous career, she followed her passion — though this time, instead of music, it’s spreading the joy and versatility of donabe cooking.
“Donabe shaped my life, and also in the big picture for Japanese people, it’s really deeply ingrained in our culture. And so, that’s why I feel like donabe isn’t just the cookware. It’s really a way of life, a way of connecting people, and a way of having an entire meal in the process.”
SALMON KALE SAKA-MUSHI
Naoko Takei Moore’s sake-steamed salmon and kale over buttery sweet potato showcases building a one-pot meal in layers. “A lot of Japanese donabe (Japanese clay vessel) cooking is you pile the ingredients and just let the donabe do the work.”
Sake-Steamed Salmon and Kale Over Buttery Sweet Potato
Serves: 4
Equipment: Tagine-style donabe (or frying pan/skillet with a lid)
For the salmon:
450 g (1 lb) salmon fillet, cut into 8 or more pieces
2 tbsp shio-koji or 2 tsp sea salt
For the almond butter sauce:
2 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce) or tamari for gluten-free
For the donabe:
2 tbsp unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) (about 400 g/14 oz), peeled and cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) thick rounds
1 garlic clove, coarsely minced
150 g (5 1/2 oz) cavolo nero (Italian kale), cut widthwise into 8 mm strips
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp sake
To serve:
Lemon wedges
Step 1
Season both sides of the salmon with shio-koji and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (a few hours or overnight is better). Gently wipe off any excess marinade with a paper towel.
Step 2
Whisk together the ingredients for the almond butter sauce, adding them one at a time to ensure a smooth consistency.
Step 3
Heat the butter in a donabe over a medium heat. Spread the satsumaimo in a single layer and cover with a lid. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Flip the satsumaimo rounds and scatter the garlic in between. Evenly spread the cavolo nero on top and arrange the salmon over it. Sprinkle with black pepper and pour in the sake. Cover again and cook for about 5 minutes, or until everything is cooked through.
Step 4
Uncover and squeeze some lemon juice over the top. Serve in individual bowls drizzled with the almond butter sauce.
MISO NIKOMI RAMEN
Naoko Takei Moore likes to add wakame and broccoli rabe to her dashi-based miso ramen “for extra texture and a tender bitterness.”
Miso-Simmered Ramen
Serves: 2
Equipment: Classic-style donabe (or heavy-duty pot) (1.2 litre/40 fl oz)
For the miso broth:
4 tbsp white miso (not the sweet kind like Saikyo miso)
1 tbsp sesame paste or tahini
2 tbsp sake
750 mL (25 fl oz/3 cups) Shojin Dashi (recipe follows) or your choice of stock
For the toppings:
1/2 corn-on-the-cob or about 100 g (3 1/2 oz/1/2 cup) tinned sweetcorn (corn)
100 g (3 1/2 oz) broccoli rabe (rapini)
4-5 g (1/4 oz) cut dried wakame, rehydrated (about 1/2 cup soft)
1 tbsp unsalted butter (optional for plant-based), in two pieces
Shredded pickled ginger, to taste
Ground toasted white sesame seeds, to taste
La-yu (chili oil), to taste
For the donabe:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 servings (150-200 g/5 1/2-7 oz) dried instant ramen (see note)
Step 1
To make the broth base, whisk together the white miso, sesame paste and sake in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the dashi until smooth.
Step 2
Separately blanch the sweetcorn, if using fresh, and broccoli rabe in boiling water (about 5 minutes for the sweetcorn and 2 minutes for the broccoli rabe). If using a donabe steamer (recommended), steam the sweetcorn for 3 minutes, then add the broccoli rabe and continue to steam for 2 more minutes. Let cool slightly, then slice the kernels off the cob and cut the broccoli rabe into 5 cm (2 in) lengths.
Step 3
Heat the sesame oil in a donabe over a medium-low heat, add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the miso broth, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a high simmer. Add the ramen and cook for 1-2 minutes until the noodles start to loosen. Cover, remove from the heat and let rest for 1-2 minutes until the noodles are al dente.
Step 4
Uncover, arrange the toppings over the noodles and let the butter melt. Serve immediately.
Note: If you are using non-instant ramen (dry or soft), par-boil the noodles separately before adding to the broth. In that case, reduce the dashi by about 200 mL (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup), since the noodles won’t absorb as much liquid.
Flavour variation: You can enjoy this with seafood, meat (including leftovers) or any other toppings you like. I sometimes add sliced prosciutto, too!
SHOJIN DASHI
Kombu and Shitake Mushroom Dashi
Makes: about 1 L (34 fl oz/4 1/4 cups)
Equipment: Classic-style donabe (or heavy-duty pot) (1.8 L/60 fl oz)
10 g (1/3 oz) dried shiitake mushrooms (about 4 small-medium pieces)
10-15 g (1/3-1/2 oz) kombu (dry kelp; about 2-3 pieces, 10 x 10 cm/4 x 4 in)
1.2 L (40 fl oz/5 cups) water (low mineral content preferred)
Step 1
Quickly rinse the shiitake mushrooms under running water.
Step 2
Soak the kombu and shiitake in the water in a bowl for 2-3 hours, or until the shiitake are fully rehydrated.
Step 3
Transfer the kombu, shiitake and their soaking water to a donabe and set over a medium heat, uncovered. Just before the water starts boiling, about 25-30 minutes, remove the kombu and shiitake, squeezing the excess liquid out of the shiitake into the broth. The dashi is ready to use.
SAYAINGEN KURUMI MISO-AE
“It’s just such a good combination of flavours, and the texture is really amazing,” Naoko Takei Moore says of her recipe for green beans in walnut miso cream.
Green Beans in Walnut Miso Cream
Serves: 4
Equipment: Donabe steamer (or pot with a steam basket)
300 g (10 1/2 oz) green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 recipe quantity Kurumi Miso (recipe follows)
Step 1
Set up the donabe steamer and bring the water to the boil. Arrange the green beans on the grate, cover and steam over a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until just tender.
Step 2
Let the beans cool slightly, then cut them in half at an angle. Toss with the kurumi miso in a bowl and transfer to a serving plate. Serve cool or at room temperature.
Note: This dish is also great for obento (lunchboxes) or a picnic.
KURUMI MISO
Walnut Miso Cream
Makes: about 120 mL (4 fl oz/1/2 cup)
40 g (1 1/2 oz/generous 1/3 cup) walnuts
2 tbsp miso
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Water or dashi, as needed (optional)
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (160C/320F convection).
Step 2
Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly golden and fragrant.
Step 3
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding a small amount of water or dashi, if desired. You can leave some small chunks of walnuts for texture or process until very fine, whichever you prefer. Alternatively, grinding the mixture in a mortar and pestle creates a lovely rustic texture.
Step 4
Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Recipes and images excerpted from Simply Donabe by Naoko Takei Moore (Quadrille, February 2026). Photography ©Matt Russell.
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