1st Kehaya Chanko Nabe Contest Award-Winning Recipe

In the city of Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture, believed to be the birthplace of sumo wrestling, the “Chanko Nabe Recipe Contest” was held for the first time to promote sumo culture through cuisine.

The contest featured dishes made with local ingredients from Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture. After preliminary and secondary screenings, the final round between the remaining three groups was held on November 3, 2023, at Roadside Station Katsuragi, where the winning dish was chosen by votes from the judges and the public.
The “Grand Champion Award” was given to the “15 Victories Parent and Child (Chanko) Nabe.” The contest aimed to broadly promote the birthplace of sumo through a culinary lens, hoping to establish the deliciousness of chanko nabe as a regional flavor.

Grand Champion Award: “15 Victories Chanko Nabe”

This dish uses daikon radish to represent 15 white star victories, carrots for gold stars, and konnyaku for the sumo wrestling rope, with a pouch containing Kehaya eggs to represent the sumo ring. The vegetables are sourced from Katsuragi City in Nara Prefecture, and the stock uses sake from Umenoyado Brewery. This recipe, featuring chicken and eggs, symbolizes parent and child (chanko), embodying the wish for families to enjoy chanko together.

▼ Ingredients:

・Dashi stock: 1400ml
・Vegetables: 1/4 head of Napa cabbage, 1/4 daikon radish, 1/2 carrot, 1 pack shimeji mushrooms, green onions to taste, 4 shiitake mushrooms, 1/2 burdock root, 150g konnyaku, 4 slices of abura-age, 4 eggs, 300g chicken thigh meat, chicken meatballs (150g ground chicken thigh, 1 egg yolk, 15g carrot, 25g lotus root, 30g yam, a pinch of salt), 15g dried shrimp, 1/2 clove of garlic (5-6 slices), 1 slice of ginger, seasonings (140ml cooking sake, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp chuka dashi, salt to taste, 1 tbsp dashi shoyu, 3 tbsp shiro dashi, MSG to taste)

▼ Preparation and Cooking Method:

Preparation:

1. Combine the chicken meatball ingredients and shape into bite-sized pieces.
2. Cut the daikon radish and carrot into star shapes.
3. Shape the konnyaku into rope-like pieces.
4. Remove excess oil from the abura-age, crack and insert a raw egg into each, and close securely with toothpicks to create egg purses.
5. Sear the skin of the chicken thigh until crispy.
6. Cut other ingredients into appropriate sizes.

Cooking Method:

1. Add dried shrimp (15g), garlic (1/2 clove, 5-6 slices), ginger (1 slice), and seasonings (cooking sake, mirin, chuka dashi, salt, dashi shoyu, shiro dashi, MSG) to the dashi stock and bring to a boil.
2. Once it comes to a boil, add the chicken meatballs, chicken thigh, rope-shaped konnyaku, egg purses, and vegetables, in that order. When the vegetables are cooked, add salt and pepper to taste.