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.

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

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