Authentic Japanese Cooking: “Puka Puka” Meatball Hot Pot

Our theme this episode is hot pots. In Japan, hot pots are beloved as a delicious way to warm up as winter gets colder. In this episode, we’ll be looking at one type: the “puka puka” meatball hot pot, featuring tsumire meatballs made of ground chicken, with a secret ingredient to make them deliciously light and tender. This hot pot is named for the charming way the meatballs float — “puka puka” is a Japanese word that refers to something gently floating or drifting. For our side dish, we’ll be making “pine needles” from tea soba noodles, with crunchy sweet potato cut into maple and ginkgo leaf shapes. The tea soba noodles are made with matcha green tea powder, to give them a beautiful green color that complements the sweet potato. Both the sweet potato and the tea soba noodles are fried, for a deliciously crunchy side dish that perfectly fits the season.