Japanese hot pots are satisfying, warm meals that you and your family treasure during the cold-weather months. Today’s recipe is Mille-Feuille Nabe, one of the most popular hot pot recipes enjoyed at home in Japan.
Mille-Feuille Nabe (ミルフィーユ鍋, 重ね鍋) is a simple Japanese hot pot that is made with napa cabbage and pork belly slices cooked in a savory dashi broth. Why the French word “mille-feuille” in a Japanese dish? So strange right? Well, let me introduce this easy and delicious hot pot dish to you and explain the story behind the name.
What is Mille-Feuille Nabe?
Mille-Feuille Nabe refers to many layers of napa cabbage and pork belly slices packed in a hot pot.
Watch How To Make Mille-Feuille Nabe ミルフィーユ鍋（重ね鍋）の作り方
Classic Japanese Mille-Feuille Nabe recipe (ミルフィーユ鍋) with napa cabbage and sliced pork belly cooked in a delicious dashi broth.
In French, “Mille-feuille” means a thousands leaves and typically refers to the classic French pastry that consists of three layers of thin puff pastry with two layers of cream filling and topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. This dessert is sometimes called Napoleon as well.
By Georges Seguin [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
There are about three theories of how Mille-Feuille Nabe was introduced to Japan, and the recipe was first appeared in a cookbook back in 1991. Since then it became one of the most popular hot pot recipes enjoyed at home in Japan.
Mille-Feuille Nabe is very visually appealing, and I get hungry by just staring at the pictures of the steamy hot soup with tender napa cabbage. The best part about the hot pot is it requires much less ingredients compared to Shabu Shabu or Sukiyaki, and it tastes equally delicious!
It’s also a great party menu during the cold months. You can prepare everything ahead of time and cook the hot pot right after your guests arrive.
3 Simple Components of Mille-Feuille Nabe: Napa Cabbage, Pork, and Dashi
You can make the layers and soup base with any ingredients you prefer, but the basic and authentic Mille-Feuille Nabe is always made with napa cabbage and pork belly slices cooked in dashi broth.
Since the pork belly is the fattier part of the meat, a simple dashi broth is the perfect match for this dish. The flavors from the meat, veggie, and broth come together nicely for an amazing umami flavor. It is incredible how these simple ingredients can offer such harmonious taste!
Things to Remember When Making Mille-Feuille Nabe
The most important thing when making this nabe is to pack the layers tightly! When the napa cabbage is being cooked, it releases water and shrinks. As a result, the layers get loosen during the cooking process. Therefore, before you start cooking, you want to make sure the layers are packed very tightly and all the ingredients are not moving around.
I put thick outer layers of napa cabbage near the wall of the pot, and soft leafy part toward the center. Use one hand to hold the layers in the pot, and use the other hand to keep adding the layers. It’s okay if the layers get loose and slip. You can start fixing the layers when you put more in the pot to bunch them up against one another.
Some people start packing layers from outer layers while some do it from the center. It’s really up to you, but I like to pack from outside toward center. This way when I run out of napa cabbage before the pot is full, I can still use my “backup plan”.
The “Backup Plan” – Run Out of Napa Cabbage
The goal is to fill up the pot with the layers till the center, however, if you’re making this dish for the first time, it could be difficult to estimate the amount of napa cabbage you will need for the pot.
For that reason, I recommend buying shimeji mushrooms or enoki mushrooms as a back-up filler. Just in case when you run out of the layers of napa cabbage and pork belly, you can stuff the empty space in the center with these mushrooms. As they have more neutral taste, they won’t affect the flavors of the dish too much.
When you’re expert in making this dish, you can add other ingredients like meatballs or fish balls, but let’s stick with the basic today.
Shime (Finale of Hot Pot)
Toward the end of hot pot when most of the ingredients are consumed, you are left with the umami-packed soup. Don’t throw it away!
The remaining soup can be enjoyed with a serving of steamed rice or noodles. This last dish is called Shime (〆, しめ) in Japanese.
I like adding chuka noodles (ramen noodles) but my kids would always vote for udon when we’re having hot pot. Mr. JOC likes to add rice with the soup to make tamago zosui (卵雑炊, egg porridge). When the rice absorbs the broth, drizzle in beaten egg and cover to cook a few minutes. Season with salt and white pepper and sprinkle with some green onion. It is so yummy!
Since the soup absorbs the flavors from the ingredients, it’s amazingly delicious. You can eat a small portion at the end, so don’t miss the finale of the hot pot even when you’re full.
I hope you enjoy making this Mille-Feuille Nabe recipe! If you try it, don’t forget to share your picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #JustOneCookbook. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
- 1 napa cabbage
- 1½ lb sliced pork belly (NOT bacon - bacon is cured sliced pork belly. See Note)
- 1 green onion/scallion
- Ponzu
- Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice)
Gather all the ingredients.
- Slice the ginger and thinly cut green onion/scallion. Keep the ginger on the side and put the green onion in a small serving bowl.
- Cut the napa cabbage into quarters lengthwise. Without cutting the edge, wash the leaves carefully and drain well. Don’t throw away the leaves that naturally came off while rinsing. We’ll use these leaves later on.
- Place each slice of pork belly between the napa cabbage leaves. If you have extra pork belly, you can put additional slice in outer layers which have wide leaves. If the pork belly is too long for the napa cabbage, you can trim with a kitchen shear and place it in other parts of the napa cabbage.
- Once the pork belly slices are nicely tucked in, cut the napa cabbage into 3-4 pieces, about 2 - 2 ¾ inches (5-7 cm).
- Start packing the layers of napa cabbage/pork belly from the outer edges of donabe (or hot pot or regular pot) and work your way towards the center. The napa cabbage/pork belly layers should be packed tightly as they become loosen once it starts cooking.
- If you don’t have enough layers, you might want to consider a smaller pot (remember the size of your napa cabbage and proportional pot size you used for next time) or place other ingredients in the center. Here I stuffed the center with napa cabbage leaves that came off while rinsing and cutting the napa cabbage. You can also put enoki mushrooms or shimeji mushrooms in the center.
- Combine the soup ingredients (5 cups dashi, 2 Tbsp. sake, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, slices of 1 inch ginger, and ½ tsp. kosher salt). Don’t cut down on the salt as napa cabbage releases liquid when it's being cooked and will dilute the soup a little bit.
- Pour the soup into the pot and start cooking on high heat. Once boiling, skim the foam and fat on the surface. Then reduce the heat to medium low and cook until napa cabbage is tender and pork belly is cooked through.
- Serve hot with ponzu, green onion/scallion, and shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice).
As I mentioned in the blog post, please consider buying shimeji mushrooms as a "backup plan" (please read the post if you haven't).
Pork belly slices or block can be purchased in Asian grocery stores (especially Japanese, Korean, and Chinese). Some American grocery stores with good meat section (where butchers work behind the counter) carry it, but usually they keep it in the freezer so you have to ask for it. When you slice, you have to defrost until a knife can go through, and don't thaw it completely. It'll be harder to slice thinly. If your pork belly has skin/rind, you will need to remove it.
Equipment you will need:
- A large pot (size: 10"/26 cm)
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Nami, since I do not bake I nearly did not click on the recipe 🙂 ! ‘Mille-feuille indeed!!! This looks delightful and is SO easy and quick to prepare I cannot wait to make it! And that final bowl of soup must be a delight . . .
Hi Eha! Haha! I should have written “hot pot” in the title somewhere. 😀 Oh yes, the final soup is so delicious! It’s probably too hot for your weather, though. Hope you had a nice holiday there!
A wonderful and scrumptious looking dish.
Best wishes for the New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
Where does one buy pork belly that is sliced thin like bacon? I’m looking forward to making this….Simple and delicious looking yum!
Do you have a hot pot recipe for chicken? (I seem to have a lot of leftovers from rotisserie chicken since there are only two of us….)
Hi Lyn! Japanese and Korean grocery stores always carry them as we use in our cooking often! Chinese supermarket may carry it as a block. Also, American supermarket which has a good meat section should carry pork belly in the freezer. I’ve asked different American grocery butchers and they always have it in the back. You will have to defrost until a knife can go through and thinly slice it. If they come with rind, you have to remove it though.
Although we have chicken nabe, chicken is not used commonly in Japanese hot pot like beef and pork and seafood. I’ll add to my list. 🙂
Aren’t you using “ordinary store bought bacon” in the video. You keep saying pork belly which is entirely different in color.
Hi David! You use pork belly to make bacon but this meat is pork belly slices that are not cured (like bacon). You can find it in Asian supermarkets (especially Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) or a good butcher. Some American supermarket (with good quality butcher) carry pork belly too, but you have to ask for it as they keep it in the freezer in the back. If you get a block of pork belly, defrost till you can thinly slice, and not thaw completely (then it’s hard to slice). Hope this helps! 🙂
This looks amazing! Pork and cabbage always combine so well, and this is such an interesting recipe. And it’s so pretty! Fun dish — thanks.
hi nami
If i would like to make this into a vegetarian dish, what can i substitute the pork with? Thank u! 🙂
Sorry but I think some dishes are nearly impossible to make Vegetarian and this is one. One of the two main ingredients is meat, fatty meat which contributes to lot of the flavour.
You’ll have to change the entire dish and use vegetarian dashi!
Hi Siew and Sammy!
I think, it will work with layers of vegetables and kombu broth. For those of you who are vegetarian, they don’t necessarily crave for the same broth we crave (with fat and all that), so they may enjoy the true vegetable flavors of the dish along with kombu dashi. I think it’ll be a wonderful dish if you use fresh organic vegetables and taste the vegetables!
My ideas would be thinly sliced zucchini, eggplant, and other vegetables you are thinking, and if root vegetables like carrot, daikon, parsnips, etc, I’d recommend to use a peeler to peel the veggies, or slice super thinly, so all the soft and hard veggies will cook at the same time. If it’s different hardness, some veggies will not be cooked at the same time. Just make sure to pack TIGHTLY! 🙂
I haven’t been here for a while and so many things has changed. But still, recipes are amazing. Cabbage is in my polish hard since I was a little girl. I am happy to try out new recipe. Big hug to you!
Aloha Nami!
I made this for my husband and daughter tonight and it was a huge hit!!! In Hawaii we say so ono (so delicious)! Thank you very much for sharing your recipes. I’ve enjoyed making some of them and they are always enjoyed in our home. For New Years I made your Mizu Yokan for my mom and she was so happy! Thank you again for sharing and making our meals a special thing. Wishing you and your family a blessed 2016!
Hi Amy! Yay! Thank you so much for trying this recipe already! So happy to hear your family enjoyed this dish! Yes, this is very ono!!!! I’m glad to hear you like my recipes and thanks for trying them. Your mom liked mizu yokan? I’m flattered! I’m sure you made it very nicely too! 🙂 Happy New Year to your family as well. xo
I haven’t heard of this dish but I have eaten too many of those French pastries – my favourite! The dish is very pretty with the pink and green colourings and I like how everything can be prepared ahead of time and then you begin cooking it once your guests have arrived xx
I am cooking this tonight. Am very excited to eat it. After I assembled everything, I realized that I didn’t position the “cut side” up in the nabe as you did so it looks more ragged than yours.
Buying the thinly sliced pork belly was a little tricky. I went to 99 Ranch Market and tried to get them to slice it thin but they said it was too difficult to slice without being frozen. They showed me another section where they had meats that were cut and after some digging around we found the perfectly sliced pork belly. The butcher had to help me find it though.
I’ll let you know how good it tastes.
Hi Judy! The cut side shouldn’t be a big issue, but if you put the cut side up (like mine), it holds up the shape better because the white part is more stiff and hold up straight compared to yours which is leafy side on the bottom. 🙂
So glad to hear you found pork belly slices! Now you an make all different pork belly recipes. 😀
Very good! I believe this recipe will enter my cooking cycle for winter.
For a 3 lb nappa, my husband and I coould have eatten the whole pot but we had to stop because our kids hadn’t eatten yet!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish. Us too, it’s one of our nabe rotation recipes. 🙂
Do you have the nutritional value of this recipe?
Hi Sonya! I don’t put the nutritional value on my blog. Sorry!
Hi Nami-san. I’m not much of a cook but your blog was a life-saver when my family was living in Berkeley and my half-Japanese children were missing Japanese food! I suddenly found myself having to produce dishes that we could so conveniently find packed and ready to eat in the supermarkets in Japan. Your tips on where/how to get the ingredients were especially helpful! Even now that we’re back in Japan, I continue to follow your blog. This nabe looks so awesome and will be great for the cold temps here (I miss the Bay Area weather!). Keep up the good work!
Hi Yvie! Thank you so much for following my blog and trying my recipes. How’s life back in Japan? This year we have more rain (good for California drought) so it’s not as typical California winter this year. Bay Area weather is very nice in general. 🙂 Thanks for writing!
I have never even heard about mille-feuille nabe! It looks so filling, but so light…. like the majority of warming Japanese dishes! The way the leaves and pork are placed makes it really unusual. I actually might try making it since I have all the ingredients… even some homemade dashi in the fridge! It’s so tempting!
Hi, thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it tonight, and my husband and I both loved it! I will be adding this to my recipe rotation. ????
Hi Quyen! Yay! I’m so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed it! Thank you for trying this recipe. 🙂
Thanks for posting this amazing dishes. It is easy to make and super yummy. My hubby liked this so much that he finished everything off from the pot.
Hi Michelle! Hahaha! So happy to hear that! The broth is delicious and we love making porridge or noodles out of this soup! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Tried it twice here in Italy, with family and with friends: this dish amazed everyone, every time! We got interesting comments that despite its crystal clear Japanese taste, style and ingredients, this recipe builds a cultural bridge to one of the big classics in italian cuisine (the “bollito misto”) . I might serve it in that context, one day.
Not having Shichimi Togarashi at hand I had to cheat by blending together in a mortar chili powder, white sesam, grated ginger, roasted fresh orange peels, szechuan peppercorns, long peppercorns. (everything I could find at home that fit somehow).
I any case, thank you for this recipe, it will become a classic in our family!
Hi Daniele! I’m so happy to know that you can cook this dish in Italy! I know some ingredients can be hard to find, but I’m really happy to hear that you could still adapt this Japanese food and cook in Italy. Thank you so much for trying this recipe. I’m glad your friends and family enjoyed it too! Thank you!!
Is there a vegetarian version of this? I suppose I can just omit the pork belly, but is there something you might recommend as a substitution? I guess some seitan or something like that would work.
Hi Heather! Sure! You can use peeler to to thinly slice carrot, daikon (or turnip etc), zucchini, etc. Or thinly slice vegetables of your choice and layer them. You can sandwich tofu in between if you like, but personally just vegetables sounds good. Make sure all the ingredients are relatively same thickness so it’s all cooked at the same time. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Nami, thanks for sharing another great recipe! This is perfect for the cold winter in NYC. I am wondering if I can use something on the lighter side than the pork belly? Say salmon? or tofu? Thanks!
Hi Siyun! Sure, I’ve never tried with salmon, and I’m afraid salmon might break into pieces (without skin, maybe even with skin on) after cooking. You can use pork tenderloin slices (for shabu shabu) to reduce fat in the broth. Surprisingly though, it’s not as oily as it sounds. Tofu is okay too, but need to use firm tofu so it won’t break into pieces. Hope this helps… 🙂
This recipe was phenomenal! Even in the hot summer weather, we loved it. I look forward to making it again. Mahalo, Nami!
Hi Debbie! So happy you liked it. We eat hot pot all year round… mainly because it’s easy for me to prepare (busy night meal!). 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback!
I made this tonight for my husband and I, we even added the mushrooms and everything. My husband couldn’t stop praising this dish. It is so simple yet so amazingly tasty! Thank you!
Hi Tammy! I’m so happy to hear that you two enjoyed this dish! Thank you for trying this recipe! 🙂
Hello Nami san,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Should the soup stock cover all cabbage at the start?
Thank you!
Hi Karen! No, as you see in my video, you don’t see the liquid going over the napa cabbage. Napa cabbage has so much moisture inside so as soon as you cook, the moisture starts to come out. As napa cabbage gets wilted, all the food will be under the soup. 😉 Enjoy!
Hello Nami san! This is a truly gorgeous dish! I made it once and had such fun folding the meat between the leaves. It was a bonus that it turned out restaurant-perfect and everyone in the family enjoyed it. I’ll be making it more often!
Hi Karen! So happy to hear that! Thank you for trying this recipe. It’s really easy and simple, yet the flavors of the broth are amazing. Glad you and your family enjoyed it. Thanks so much for your kind feedback. 🙂 xo
I want to make this but instead of pork belly, what part of the chicken can i use? (Cooking for people who don’t eat beef or pork)
Hi Zane! Chicken tends to get tough as you cook for a longer time, so it’s not meant for a hot pot like this. I recommend chicken thigh meat (breast can be dry as you overcook it) but it’s harder to make into layer as you will need thin layer to make into “1000 layers”. Though Asian grocery stores (specifically chinese) has thinly sliced chicken breast meat, and that might work for this recipe. Just don’t over cook it. It gets chewy and tough. Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi Nami, can I prepare this dish in the pot overnight in fridge and cook the next day?
Hi Lian! Sure you can do that. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this dish!
This recipe is absolutely delicious, and exactly what I needed after a long day… I made half the recipe with a handful of enoki, and now have some amazing leftovers to look forward to in the next few days 🙂 Thank you Nami!!
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for your kind comment. xo 🙂
Dear Nami-san,
Wonderful recipe!!! So creative.
However not a pork eater I am thinking of using a vegetarian replacement – possibly tempeh – do you have any ideas?
Thank you for all of your work for all of us!
Sincerely,
Joyce
HI Joyce! Thank you for your kind words! To be honest with you, I had never tried tempeh before… so I can’t quite figure out how it’s like. I am so sorry… I want to say it should work, from imagining how it is like… Sorry, I wish I could give you a better advice.
Cooked this today – it was delicious!
So happy to hear that! Thank you!!!