I'm already so in love with my new donabe, the handleless donabe, "Yu-series, Kizeto".
So, as soon as I finished staring it, I seasoned this new donabe.
Seasoning a donabe is an essential first step before start cooking with it. It's a one-time process, and once it's seasoned, you can use this quality Iga-yaki donabe for many decades with the proper care. You first combine the water (about 70% full) and leftover cooked rice (at least 1/5 volume of the water). I happened to have the leftover "purple rice" (white rice with a little amount of black rice), so my mixture is purple!
Simmer the mixture over low heat and stir occasionally. The mixture starts to become like thick porridge after about 30 minutes.
After about 1 hour, the mixture has turned like paste. I turned off the heat and let it cool down about 1 hour before discarding the mixture from the donabe. Then, I just rinsed the donabe with mild soap and dried it completely.
That's it! It's really easy. You can find the step-by-step "How to season donabe" instructions on toiro's website.
As I was so excited about this new donabe, I made my first dish with it on the same night. I made a light broth and simmered yuba (tofu skin), okra, and seaweed. The donabe body is not very deep, so it was great for the quick simmering dish like this.
It was so wonderful. Happy donabe life.
