Spicy Hoto Noodle Hot Pot (Made with Gyoza Wrappers)

Brush water over the surface of the gyoza wrappers and fold them into 1 cm wide strips. Building up the thickness this way gives them a hoto noodle-like texture once boiled.

Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp of the kabocha with a spoon. The skin is hard, so wrap it in plastic wrap and microwave at 600 W for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes to soften it.

Slice the kabocha thinly and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Forcing the knife through something hard leads to injury, so cut carefully, turning the squash as you go.

Cut off the woody ends of the shiitake and tear the stems apart by hand. The stems give off good flavor, so use them rather than throwing them away. Pull the shimeji apart as well. Mushrooms taste best used generously.

Cut the green onion diagonally. Keep the white and green parts separate, as they cook at different rates.

Napa cabbage can have dirt between the leaves, so rinse it lightly and separate the cores from the leaves. Cut the cores, which are slow to cook, on a slant to expose more surface, and cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

Cut the chicken thigh in half, then cut it on a slant into bite-sized pieces so it cooks through easily. It is easier to cut with the skin facing up.

Prepare 1 L of Japanese dashi in a pot. Using a dashi packet makes it easy.

Once the dashi comes to a boil, add the ingredients that take longest to cook first — kabocha, chicken thigh, napa cabbage cores, mushrooms, and the white part of the green onion — and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes until cooked through.

When the ingredients are cooked through, add the folded gyoza wrappers. Boil for about 5 minutes, keeping them well submerged in the broth; they are done when they turn glossy and springy.

Keep the seasoning simple with just miso. For this amount it comes to about 3 tablespoons, but replace 1 tablespoon of that with gochujang for a mildly spicy finish. Miso loses its aroma when boiled, so add it at the end and adjust while tasting.

Once the miso is dissolved in, add the reserved napa cabbage leaves and the green part of the green onion, cook briefly, and it is done.