TOIRO brings you beautifully crafted Japanese donabe (clay pot) products for your everyday use. We are the official US representative of Nagatani-en, a leading producer of authentic Iga-yaki (Iga style) donabe and versatile earthenware products from Iga, Japan.
Learn how to choose the best donabe, a traditional Japanese clay pot made of earthenware, perfect for cooking hot pots, rice, and stews.
The donabe or Japanese hot pot, is one of the most beloved tools in kitchens throughout Japan. Because of its unique ambient heat, the earthenware vessel is perfect for making rice, slow-simmering soups and even steaming or smoking meats, fish and vegetables. No matter the dish you choose, a donabe yields joy-sparking flavor while creating a communal experience around the table.
Donabe is a traditional cooking vessel. [4][5] It is made from a clay that is porous and coarse. [4][5]: 7 In the area around Iga, Iga-yaki (Iga-style) donabe, have been made since 1832; [5]: xiii Iga-yaki pottery in general dates back to the 7th century and is highly valued. [5]: 17–18 It became particularly popular for donabe during the Edo ...
Donabe, traditional Japanese clay pots, are often used in restaurants and homes to serve authentic hot pot dishes like chanko nabe, yudofu, and oden. These winter favorites are especially flavorful when prepared in a donabe. Experienced chefs and science agree: cooking with a donabe makes food more delicious. Research shows that compared to a metal pot, cooking with a donabe clay pot can ...
Simply put, a donabe is a Japanese earthenware clay pot—one of the country’s oldest forms of cookware. In Japanese, do means clay, and nabe means pot. Donabe come in a wide variety of pottery styles (all equally beautiful), from Iga-ware, to Shigaraki-Ware, to Banko-Ware. Most of my donabe are Iga-ware crafted by Nagatan-Ien, one of Japan’s oldest makers which can be found in LA at Toiro ...