History

Kani Doraku opened its first Dotonbori room in 1962 with the giant moving crab sign that has since become an Osaka landmark, and codified kani-suki as the city's winter banquet. Snow crab (zuwai-gani) and matsuba-gani from the Sea of Japan run November to March; Osaka diners eat the legs as sashimi first, then drop the remaining meat into the simmering pot.

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Common allergens: Crustaceans, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg cooked snow crab legs, in the shell
  • 200g firm tofu, cubed
  • 1 leek, sliced diagonally 2cm thick
  • 200g enoki mushrooms
  • 4 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
  • 1 small Chinese cabbage, leaves separated and cut
  • 1 bunch shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) or watercress
  • For the broth: 1.5 litres water
  • 20cm strip of kombu
  • 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 tablespoons sake
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • For dipping: 4 tablespoons ponzu, grated daikon and sliced spring onion
  • 200g cooked udon noodles, for the finish

Method

  1. Soak the kombu in the cold water 30 minutes. Bring slowly to just under a simmer; lift out the kombu before it boils.
  2. Add soy sauce, mirin, sake and salt. Hold at a gentle simmer.
  3. Crack the crab legs lengthwise with kitchen shears so the meat lifts easily, but leave the meat in the half-shells.
  4. At the table, transfer the broth to a tabletop pot on a portable burner. Arrange the crab, tofu, leek, mushrooms and cabbage on platters.
  5. Eat the firmest crab tips raw, sashimi-style, dipped in ponzu. Then add legs and vegetables in stages to the simmering broth, lifting each piece out as it cooks (crab needs only 1 to 2 minutes).
  6. When all the crab is eaten, drop the udon noodles into the now-rich broth and bring back to a simmer; serve as the finishing course.

Tip from the editors. Do not boil the broth at any point; a hard boil turns the crab meat stringy and the kombu bitter. Hold it at a tremble.

Where to eat kani-suki (snow crab hotpot)

Kani-suki (snow crab hotpot) in Osaka

Kani Doraku Dotonbori Honten ★ 4.2

¥¥¥ JapaneseDotonbori And Namba

The restaurant behind Dotonbori's mechanical crab sign, serving full Hokkaido crab courses and individual crab kaiseki since 1960 on five floors.

OrderZuwaigani course, Kani suki (crab hot pot), Kani gratin

Directions

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