Posted 3 years ago
dav2no1
(839 items)
Japanese Cast Iron Sukiyaki or Shabu Shabu Nabe Pot
Approximately - 4 5/8" wide
From inside bottom to grill - 1"
Table to top of side - 1 5/8"
This piece has sat in the living room display cabinet for as long as I can remember. Mom never explained it. I remember looking at over the years. I always assumed it was some sort of ashtray until I saw kwqd's recent post.
This one seems small, so not sure if it's a kids size, miniature or? Haven't seen one with the insert. Comments appreciated.
SUKIYAKI OR SHABU-SHABU?
"Sukiyaki and shabu-shabu are two different types of Japanese cuisine, both involving thin slices of beef that are boiled at your table. ... Sukiyaki offers a rich flavor, seasoned with soy sauce and sugar, while shabu-shabu is fatty meat with a light flavor."
I found out from Oigen when researching another small pot like this that The Japanese, in the past, often used specific small hotpots for specific uses. For instance, the little pot in the post below was used for cooking a single egg:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/303321-japanese-cast-iron-medamayaki-nabe-by-oi
Pots of all sizes are called hot pots. So this little hot pot was probably used for cooking one serving of something specific. The small trivet may have been used for resting the lid or pot on.
The writing on the trivet may describe was the pot was used for.
By the way, specialized pots like the one in the post I linked seem to have gone out of fashion quite a while ago and pots are now more generic.
I was thinking maybe you cooked something on the grill, while heating the lower portion. If that makes sense...they could cook at different temperatures?
But it seems it would make more sense to use it as a trivet and rest the pot on, it does have little feet. If so, ingenious that it stores inside.
Thanks for the comments..
Here is another small pot with an insert, but one that is designed to be used as a trivet. Not sure how the lid on this one was supposed to be used. Pretty sure the "lid" on the pot in your post is a trivet, based on the three feet on it.
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/294575-japanese-cast-iron-serving-pot?in=collection-7166
"Here is another small pot with an insert, but one that is NOT designed to be used as a trivet."
oops.
Looks like radish and eggplant
Agree. Probably a very obvious indicator of what it was used for to an older Japanese person.....
Thanks...at least I know what it is now. I wish I could ask mom, why she saved this one. Seems like it would've been common to have a group of these. Why this one?
Or maybe a turnip or some other root vegetable native to Japan.... Going to bed!
let, s be honest i don,t understand nothing of it , actually i was surprised that they even existed yet
the iron inlay part is an old kasuta, you mother must be very old because they are old school nowadays the knobs are rubber
remains an absurd theoratical question ,IMO is this a double kasuta ?( the wooden lid as addendum kasuta, i measured the diameters
i don,t know why you mother kept , the pot is small so maybe destined to be personal use
another reason might be it is still an set the same composition of aloi don,t stick
Waki - Yes, mom passed in 2020 at age 89. I think maybe she kept it to remind her of the old days. Just like the old Japanese coins she gave to me.
Obviously I know it's been in the house over 50 years..but something to point out is the handle shape. It goes from thick to thin on the sides. I have not seen a handle shape like this. Some craftsmanship there..
Really cool pot!
i still don,t know , because i think it is from the forties or the fifties, and when it is that old and if your mother was traditional sukiyaki is cast iron ware while shabu shabu is donabe ware
the rest is completly immaterial nowadays , even the slicing of the meat or the size of the plate,( kids eat out out of noodle which ought to be small ( but for practical reasong , because they don,t eat
only official dinners stick to the rules ( and there are a lot of rules , it,s really sufficating all the rules0
and you know the place in the hierarchy , when people asked up front ( do you want your Warishita how long cooked etc and how spicy etc
its all about hierarchy you start at the outer seats at the table ( when you are not important and when you try hard or got respected you get the more inner seats , so most of the time i got one of the outer seats hahaha
correction noodle pot ware etc are mostly small- addendum , dont eat MUCH
So I was talking to my sister and she said mom told her when she came from Japan after the war, she was very young(teenager) and didn't bring much with her(poor times during war). So her family sent her a few things. That would've been the 50s, so your explanation is spot on.
Thanks Waki. Hope your health is holding up. I sent you an email awhile back, is your email still messed up?
no my email is working, but i am far behind about 260 mails , and i am on csws gear for epilepsy , which interfere with my very well organised mind which makes my mind an total chaos to prevent sopor or sudep . or mental instability
in this state i prefer to stay out of the site, because i don,t want beef with anybody, but than i feel guilty i can,t deliver on the site
and i am busy as an mustashar for my ummah for Ukraine , without much succes by the way (only duvets and medicin) i need the Syrian ummahs for political reasons, and i manage to get the stuff in Poznan
and i have to sell a business, , because i probably have to cope with very huge medical costs
, so i am buying an indulgence for an stairway to heaven, the problem is i don,t deserve it , i am not religious although an Koran expert , and i don,t need 70 virgins hahaha, i am satisfied when i can tie my shoelaces
no sweat it is just life
'i don't need 70 virgins.... i'm satisfied when i can tie my shoelaces.' Hilarious!