Shabu shabu is a traditional Japanese hot pot dish. A pot of boiling water is placed in the center of the table and sliced beef is cooked in it along with vegetables, mushrooms and tofu. Cooked ingredients are served and eaten immediately when removed from the pot, but after being dipped in some kind of condiment sauce.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
Hot Pot
- 7.6 cm long dried "kombu" seaweed
- 1/2 head napa cabbage
- 1 sturdy block of tofu
- 2 cups (500 ml) enoki mushrooms
- 8 shiitake mushrooms
- Carrots 5 cm long
- 1 large leek
- 900 g sirloin beef
- 250 ml udon noodles.
- 1.25 L of plain water.
Ponzu sauce
- 80 ml soy sauce
- 60 ml yuzu juice OR lemon juice
- 15 ml rice vinegar
- 80 ml dashi broth
- Daikon radish, grated (optional)
- Spring onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- Fine chili powder for added flavor (optional)
Sesame Sauce
- 125 ml toasted white sesame seeds
- 250 ml dashi broth
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) powdered white sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sake
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground black pepper
- Spring onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- Garlic, finely chopped (optional)
- Fine chili powder for added flavor (optional)
Step
Method 1 of 4: Making Ponzu Sauce
Step 1. Combine and stir the sauce ingredients
Combine soy sauce, yuzu juice, rice vinegar, and dashi stock in a small bowl. Mix evenly with a wire whisk until the ingredients are evenly mixed.
- Ponzu sauce is one of two dipping sauces traditionally served with shabu shabu. Ponzu sauce is a fairly common sauce, so you may find it sold packaged in an Asian grocery store or in the regional specialty section of a regular grocery store.
- The finished sauce is usually dark brown in color.
Step 2. Pour the sauce into the serving bowl
Transfer the ponzu sauce to a shallow serving bowl.
The serving dish should be short and wide so you don't have a hard time dipping the pieces of meat and vegetables into the sauce
Step 3. Add embellishments, if you wish
The sauce can be served on its own, but to enhance its appearance and taste, you can also add some garnishes. Grated daikon radish, thinly sliced scallions, and a sprinkling of finely ground chili powder are common choices.
- When using daikon radishes, peel the radishes and cut them into fist-sized pieces. Grate the radish pieces with a square grater, then sprinkle them over the sauce as desired.
- There is no specific amount when adding decoration. Usually, add just enough garnish to garnish the sauce without covering it completely.
- Set aside the sauce for a while until the shabu shabu is ready to eat.
Method 2 of 4: Making the Sesame Sauce
Step 1. Grind the sesame seeds into powder
Use a spice grinder to grind the roasted sesame seeds into a fine powder. When you're done, there should be no more solid seeds.
If you don't have a spice grinder, consider using a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle instead
Step 2. Mix the sauce ingredients
Combine and stir ground sesame seeds, dashi, soy sauce, sugar, sake, rice vinegar, and black pepper in a small bowl until all ingredients are evenly mixed.
- For the sesame sauce, you can process it in a blender on a pulse setting instead of mixing and stirring the ingredients by hand, if you prefer. Doing so will help you to mix the solids-that is, the sesame seeds, sugar, and black pepper-more evenly.
- Keep in mind that this is another type of sauce that is commonly served with shabu shabu, and it can also be purchased packaged to save time.
- The final result of this sauce will be light brown.
Step 3. Pour the sauce into the serving bowl
Transfer the sauce to a second shallow serving container.
- The container you use should be shallow so you can dip the food into the sauce without difficulty.
- Do not mix sesame sauce and ponzu sauce. Both must be in separate containers.
Step 4. Add embellishments, if desired
Sauces can be served completely ungarnished, but garnishes can add color and flavor. Thinly sliced scallions, a sprinkle of chopped garlic, and a pinch of ground red chili are all good choices for a sesame sauce.
- Add garnish for added flavour. Remember that garnishes are useful for accenting the flavor of a sauce, not overpowering or masking the flavor of the sauce.
- Set aside the sesame sauce for a while until the shabu shabu is ready to eat.
Method 3 of 4: Preparing the Ingredients
Step 1. Cut the cabbage
Rinse the cabbage thoroughly under running water and cut the cabbage into easy-to-chew sizes.
- Remove damaged leaves from freshly washed cabbage.
- Cut the head of cabbage in half lengthwise if the cabbage has not been halved before.
- Cut each piece in half again so that it forms four equal parts.
- Cut the two pre-quartered cabbage pieces crosswise into 5cm pieces.
Step 2. Cut the tofu into smaller blocks
One standard-sized block of tofu should be cut into 16 bite-sized chunks.
- Cut the tofu block in half lengthwise.
- Cut each piece in half crosswise, forming a quarter-block.
- Cut each quarter piece in half again, so the pieces are one-eighths in size.
- Position the knife in the center of the side of the block, then cut the pile of pieces into eighths, making 16 cuts.
Step 3. Prepare the mushrooms
For enoki and shiitake mushrooms, wipe the dirt off with a wet tissue and pat dry with another dry tissue. Remove the mushroom stems.
- For enoki mushrooms, you will need to remove the base connecting the mushroom bases. Cut off the tops of the mushrooms and put them together into small piles.
- For shiitake mushrooms, you only need to cut and remove the stems.
Step 4. Chop the carrots and leeks
The slices should be sliced into thin coins and the leeks should be cut into 5 cm pieces.
- Peel the carrots before cutting them.
- You can replace the leeks with negi or scallions, if you prefer.
Step 5. Slice the beef
Use a sharp knife to thinly slice the beef, no more than 1.6mm thick.
If you go to an Asian market, you may find pre-sliced "shabu-shabu" beef. This beef is just as good as any meat you slice yourself at home and can save time
Method 4 of 4: Cooking, Serving and Enjoying Shabu Shabu
Step 1. Fill the pot of shabu shabu with water
Use 1.25 L of plain water or enough water to fill the pot to 2/3 full.
- The ideal pot to use is large and shallow. Clay pots are the most traditional option. but stainless steel pans work well too. You can even use a frying pan if you can't find a large, shallow pan.
- You'll also need a portable stove or an electrically powered tabletop stove.
- Alternatively, you can simplify the process of using an electric skillet instead of separate pots and hobs.
Step 2. Soak the seaweed
Put the seaweed in the water and soak for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, arrange the other hot pot ingredients on a serving plate into piles based on the type of each ingredient. This serving plate will be placed next to the pan when the ingredients are cooked
Step 3. Bring the water to a boil
Heat the water over medium-high heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the seaweed when finished.
- You should be able to do this on a countertop stove, but this step can also be done on a kitchen stove. Use a kitchen stove to save time because the water will heat up faster.
- Use long cooking chopsticks to scoop out the seaweed. Chopsticks should also be used to handle leftover ingredients cooked in the pot.
Step 4. Add vegetables, mushrooms and tofu
Let the flavored water boil again, then add a little cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and tofu to the water. Cook until the texture of the vegetables is tender, but still a little crunchy (crisp-tender).
- If you are using a kitchen stove to boil seaweed, then transfer the water in a saucepan to the countertop and let the water boil again before adding any other ingredients.
- You should only add a few ingredients at a time. The surface of the pot should look full, but there should be room left for you to pick up the ingredients that are cooked with the chopsticks.
- The time it takes for each ingredient to cook varies, but most ingredients will cook in just a few minutes at most, so make sure that you keep checking the pieces after adding them.
Step 5. Add the beef slices
Everyone should be able to cook their own beef by dipping thin slices of beef into the simmering broth with chopsticks. Gently stir the beef in the hot broth and let the meat soak in it until it changes from red to brown in color.
This process should only take 10 to 20 seconds if the beef is really thin enough
Step 6. Enjoy food cooked in cycles
Everyone has to pick up beef, vegetables, and other ingredients while cooking and eat them while they're still hot. When the cooked ingredients have been taken, the raw materials must be put in a small pot of boiling water.
- This cycle continues until all the ingredients have been cooked and eaten.
- Dip the beef, mushrooms, vegetables, and tofu in the dipping sauce after it's cooked and before you eat it.
- Remember that you will have to remove any dirt and grease on the surface of the broth as you continue to cook the ingredients. Use a strainer to remove any unsightly material on the surface of the broth, then dip the filter into a small bowl of clean water to clean it.
Step 7. Serve the udon noodles
Traditionally, udon noodles are enjoyed later. Add the udon noodles to the hot broth when all or almost all of the other ingredients are used up, then let the noodles simmer in a simmering broth for a few minutes until the noodles are tender. Remove the udon with chopsticks and enjoy.
- You can spice up the udon with salt and pepper if you like, or you can just dip it in any of the dipping sauces.
- When the udon noodles have been finished, the eating process is complete.
