Motsunabe (Japanese Offal Hot Pot) もつ鍋

Warm up with a bowl of rich and savory Motsunabe—a regional Japanese hot pot dish with plump beef offal, garlic chives, cabbage, and tofu simmered in a creamy miso broth. It’s packed with deep umami goodness!

Variety meats may not come to mind when you think of Japanese cuisine. To the contrary, Motsunabe (Japanese Offal Hot Pot) is a classic regional dish that you can now find at specialty restaurants in many parts of Japan. While beef small intestine may not suit everyone, I encourage you to try this recipe if you’re a fan of its unique, chewy texture. It makes a rich and creamy broth with deep umami, too.

If you’re craving more hot pot dishes, try my Sukiyaki Recipe, Mille-Feuille Nabe, and Shabu Shabu recipe next!

What is Motsunabe?

Motsunabe (もつ鍋) is a hot pot dish of beef small intestine (motsu) that’s a regional specialty of Hakata ward in Kyushu’s Fukuoka City. It was created during post-World War II food shortages to help people fill up on available and affordable cuts of meat. Once born of necessity, eating motsu is now mainstream, with restaurants that specialize in offal appearing in Tokyo around the year 2000.

Why I Love This Recipe

• A luxurious soup broth: The star of motsunabe for me is the rich and deeply savory soup. It’s creamy from the beef small intestine fat and sweet from the green cabbage.
• Comforting and savory: Although classic motsunabe is soy sauce based, I season my broth with miso, garlic, and sesame seeds—my favorite umami flavors.

Ingredients for Motsunabe

• beef small intestine (motsu) – I used frozen; do not use pork offal
• sliced pork belly
• medium-firm tofu (momen dofu)
• green cabbage
• garlic chives (Chinese chives or nira)
• bean sprouts
• garlic
• dried red chili pepper
• kosher salt, all-purpose flour (plain flour), and sake – to clean and prep the offal
• Soup:
  • chicken stock/broth
  • miso – any type
  • soy sauce, mirin, and sake
  • oyster sauce
  • toasted white sesame seeds

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Jump to Recipe

Where to Buy Beef Small Intestine?

Of all the types of beef offal, use only the small intestine (小腸) for motsunabe. It has plenty of white fat, a mild taste, and a firm and chewy texture. Restaurants always use fresh, raw small intestine for a plump motsu and rich, savory stock. Look at the high-quality, domestic Japanese motsu in the image below!

Home cooks can purchase raw small intestine that are cleaned and vacuumed-sealed for convenience at supermarkets. Pre-boiled intestine are available, but much of the delicious fat has been removed so I wouldn’t recommend that even though it seems like a time saver.

For those of us living outside of Japan, good-quality motsu is extremely difficult to get. I could only find frozen beef small intestine at HMart in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it did not have white fat around the intestine like the Japanese motsu pictured above, and my kitchen was smelly for about half a day afterwards. The food tasted great, though! I just have to warn my readers first.

Substitutions

• Beef small intestine: There is no substitute for this ingredient. Do not use pork offal because it has a strong odor and flavor. You can make this dish using only pork belly; however, it lacks deep umami and tastes nothing like motsunabe.
• Sliced pork belly: Purchase it in thin slices or blocks at Japanese, Korean, and Chinese markets. If you can’t find it, you can use leaner pork loin or your choice of protein. You can also slice a pork belly block yourself with my tutorial How to Slice Meat Thinly.
• Garlic chives: If you don’t have them, you could substitute green onions (scallions).
• Miso: You can skip the miso flavor and make a light, soy sauce-flavored soup just like the original Hakata motsunabe. If you leave out the miso, please taste the soup and adjust the salt. See Variations below for other flavors.

How to Make Motsunabe

Preparation

Step 1 – Slice the veggies and pork. Cut the cabbage, garlic chives, pork belly, and tofu into bite-size pieces. Slice the garlic and chili pepper into thin rounds.

Step 2 – Cut and rinse the offal. Cut the beef small intestine into 1-foot (30-cm) lengths. Thoroughly clean the inside of the intestines with running tap water.

Step 3 – Cut into small pieces and rub with salt. Rinse away the dirt and odors with a strong stream of tap water.

Step 4 – Rub with flour and rinse one last time. Coat with flour and rub it in with your hand, then wash it off. Finally, rinse each piece well, inside and out, with running water.

Step 5 – Parboil. Blanch the offal for 1 minute in water with a splash of sake. Drain and transfer to a plate or tray.

Cooking

Step 6 – Build the soup. Pour the chicken stock, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and ground sesame seeds into the pot and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Then, add the miso.

Step 7 – Cook. Add the cabbage and bean sprouts and bring to a simmer. Then, add the pork, intestines, tofu, garlic chives, sliced garlic, and chili pepper. Cover and cook for 10–15 minutes.

Step 8 – Serve. When the cabbage is tender and the pork is cooked through, serve and enjoy.

Nami’s Recipe Tips

• Buy frozen beef small intestine here in the US. I found it at my local Korean market. If you’re in Japan, you can use parboiled domestic motsu found at supermarkets. Fresh and raw Japanese motsu makes the best motsunabe, but it is difficult to source.
• Take your time cleaning the offal. I thoroughly rinsed each piece, one by one, inside and out. Don’t skip the salt and flour steps, either. They absorb odors and salt also helps remove slime.
• Don’t parboil the offal too long. I quickly boil the motsu for only 1 minute. This removes impurities and excess fat so the motsunabe soup doesn’t become too oily.
• Cook the offal quickly. I simmered it for just 10–15 minutes. It’s ready when it puffs up and becomes plump. If you stew it a long time, the delicious fat will melt away and the motsu will become thin.
• Do not stir once you add the motsu. If you do, it will fall to the bottom of the pot.
• Don’t dilute the soup. Avoid adding too much liquid or vegetables with high moisture content, as they will water down the broth’s delicious flavor.
• Eat the motsunabe as is. The delicious broth is already flavored, so there’s no need to add ponzu sauce or any other dipping sauce. I do like to offer yuzu kosho at the table for brightness and a little heat.

Variations and Customizations

“Keep it simple” is the basic rule for this Fukuoka prefecture specialty. While we don’t want to add ingredients that can dilute the soup’s flavor, there are several ways that you can customize the dish. Below are a few of my favorite variations.

• Change the soup flavor. You can make this flavorful hot pot dish with a different seasoning instead of miso. The typical variety of flavors includes original soy sauce, salt, or spicy soup. You could also experiment with creative variations like kimchi flavors.
• Swap fried tofu. Switch out regular tofu for fried tofu cutlets (astuage), deep-fried tofu pouches (aburaage), or even fried tofu puffs.
• Use other low-moisture vegetables. I recommend adding shredded burdock root (gobo), which goes well with offal. Onions or yams also work. So do enoki or shimeji mushrooms, but don’t use shiitake mushroom because it has a strong flavor. Avoid veggies with a lot of moisture that could dilute the delicate soup seasoning.
• Make rice porridge and ramen. After the main course, simmer cooked Japanese rice in the rich and sweet broth to finish the meal. You could also use ramen, udon, or classic champon noodles (may be hard to find). Stir in beaten egg and chopped green onions, then top each portion with shredded seaweed.

What to Serve with Motsunabe

• An appetizer – Gyoza and Karaage
• With vegetable sides – Yamitsuki Cabbage
• Refreshing desserts – Hojicha Jelly

Storage and Reheating Tips

To store: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. When you freeze it, remove the tofu as its texture will change when frozen.

To reheat: Reheat in a pot on the stove over medium heat. If you previously froze it, defrost it in the refrigerator overnight and add fresh tofu when reheating the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions