When the weather gets colder, I find myself craving hot pot. Fill your mouth with a variety of vegetables and meat, along with the clear soup that brings out the flavor of the ingredients. Then, your mind and body will feel relaxed, and you will feel as if the deliciousness and nutrition of the seasonal ingredients are permeating your body. It was truly a happy moment.

This time, Ai Hosokawa introduced us to the ``red wine hot pot'' that warms you from the core. ``Hot wine warms you up from the core, just like hot red wine.'' Ai Hosokawa says, ``You can feel your body warming up from the moment you eat red wine hotpot.'' .

When you think of red wine and beef hotpot, you think of beef stew, but this time he uses kelp and sardines to create a Japanese-style dish.

When Aso's red meat is slowly simmered in dashi and red wine, its flavor softens and the meat becomes so tender that it falls apart without having to cut it with a knife. Filter the broth once, and then carefully remove as much fat from the surface as possible to get a clear broth. ``Don't waste this effort,'' Hosokawa advises. ``Chinese cabbage goes well with this pot, so you can add more than the amount specified in the recipe.''

``Since we have children, we drink wine after the alcohol content has been evaporated, but if you like wine, you can add about a glass of wine at the end to enhance the flavor and aroma of the wine. I recommend making it when you have leftover wine.''

Grab some good meat, have plenty of seasonal Chinese cabbage, and enjoy your favorite red wine.

Red wine pot (for 4 people)

Ingredient
Beef loin 400g
Flavored vegetables
(Garlic, green onion, ginger)
Red peppers
8 pieces of Chinese cabbage
10g dried tomatoes

juice
2 red chili peppers
1000g water
Kelp and dried sardine soup stock 400g
400g red wine
10g fish sauce
10g salt
Condiment
coriander or parsley

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add a little oil if necessary, and fry the beef in chunks.
When the whole thing is golden brown, take it out and rinse it with boiling water to remove the fat.
Boil half the water and red wine, add the herbs and red pepper, and add the beef.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 2 to 3 hours.
(If using a pressure cooker, degas naturally after pressurizing for 30 minutes)
Remove the beef and strain through a fine mesh sieve.
If possible, cool the broth and carefully remove any fat that has floated to the surface.
Add salt, fish sauce, kelp and sardine stock, bring to a boil, and remove the scum.
Cut and add the core of Chinese cabbage, and when the core becomes soft, adjust the saltiness, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and beef back in.
Transfer to a pot that can be placed on the table, and tear off large Chinese cabbage leaves and arrange around the beef.
Pour in the remaining red wine and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Break the beef into pieces of appropriate size and place in separate bowls with the soup and Chinese cabbage.
Serve with coriander and parsley leaves if you like.

*Instead of beef loin, it is also delicious if you use pork shoulder loin chunks or chicken thighs with bones.

Ai Hosokawa

Cook. He hosts cooking classes and cooking parties in taishoji, Kumamoto. Many books are currently on sale, including ``Toast'' (BON Publishing), ``Standard Cooking Collection'' (Anonyma Studio), ``Travel and Cooking'' (CCC Media House), and ``Taishoji Cookbook 1.2'' (Shobunsha). His online magazine ``Apron and Recipe'' (grembiuli & ricette) is updated every month.

Photography by Ai Hosokawa