Japanese Shabu Shabu: How to Eat and Recipe

What is Shabu Shabu?

Traditional Shabu Shabu with broth, premium Wagyu and fresh vegetables

What is shabu-shabu? Simply put, this mysteriously-named dish is a popular style of nabemono, or Japanese hot pot, featuring paper-thin slices of tender meat and fresh vegetables cooked together in a large open pot. Unlike other types of hot pot, where the ingredients are cooked together before serving, shabu-shabu ingredients are served raw and cooked tableside during the meal, similar to fondue. This particular way of eating hot pot dining originated in Osaka during the 1950s but has since spread all across Japan and even to other countries like Singapore. It gets its name from the Japanese onomatopoeia for “swish, swish,” as each piece of meat is lightly swished around in boiling broth before eating.

The best thing about shabu-shabu is that the ingredients can be customized to one’s own taste and preferences, from a decadent meal of A5-ranked wagyu beef to a healthy vegetarian spread full of fresh produce. Before you read further: Enjoy 8% off all Shabu Shabu ingredients with code shabu8 from 30/04/22 to 08/05/22 on shiki.sg

Shabu Shabu Equipment

Shabu Shabu or Japanese hot pot at home

Shabu Shabu set up at home with individual bowls

Shabu Shabu Ingredients

Shabu Shabu Ingredients including seaweed for stock / broth and sauces

The traditional broth for shabu-shabu is a simple dashi made from kombu seaweed, with no additional flavors added since the meat and vegetables are dipped in sauce before eating. However, it’s becoming more popular for restaurants to offer shabu shabu with flavored hot pot broth such as kimchi broth, tomato dashi, and even soy collagen broth. A split nabe pot with a divider down the center can also be used to cook with two different kinds of broth at once.

Sauces for Shabu Shabu with beef, udon and veggies

Cooking meat in Shabu Shabu broth

Next, cook the meat and seafood, swishing the pieces lightly through the broth or submerging them briefly. Cook only enough meat at a time for one or two bites, rather than trying to cook everything at once. Shabu-shabu should be enjoyed like fondue, with the ingredients cooked over the course of the meal. In addition, adding too many items to the nabe pot at once can lower the temperature of the boiling broth and interrupt cooking.

Remove the cooked meat and vegetables from the pot and dip them into the various sauces. Generally, ponzu is used for vegetables and sesame sauce for meat, although this can be varied according to one’s own personal tastes.

Enjoy the cooked meat and vegetables dipped simply in sauce, or eat them together with rice.At the end of the meal, rice or udon noodles mixed with raw beaten egg can be added to the broth for everyone to share as a finisher.

More about Japanese Shabu Shabu ingredients: read here

Shabu Shabu Recipe – How to Cook:

INGREDIENTS

1 cut of kombu (dried kelp) (about 10 g)
1/4 napa cabbage (about 350 g)
½ bunch shungiku (Garland Chrysanthemum) or mizuna greens (about 115 g)
1 Negi (leeks) (about 110 g)
1 package enoki mushrooms or shimeji mushroom as you like (about 200 g)
4 shiitake mushrooms (about 65 g)
2 inches carrot (about 65 g)
1 package medium firm tofu (about 396 g)
450 g thinly sliced beef (chuck or rib eye), or pork (113-140 g per person)
1 package udon noodles (about 250 g) or cooked rice (Typically, hot pot meal ends with cooking udon noodles or porridge.)You can also add any other vegetables as you like.

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DIPPING SAUCE & CONDIMENTS

(You can purchase at the store, or make one on your own. Please check for the recipe.)

Ponzu Sauce
Sesame Sauce
Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice) – optional
Grated Daikon Radish – optional
Chopped Green Onion – optional

Preparing Broth

1. Fill a donabe (or any large pot) two-thirds full with water. Add kombu (dried kelp) and soak in water for at least 30 minutes. **You can lightly wipe the kelp before putting it into the water. The white powders on the surface are umami extract, so please do not over rinse.

While preparing the broth, let’s prepare the dipping sauce and all the other ingredients!

Preparing Dipping Sauce and Condiments

Grated Daikon Radish
Use grater or food processor and make the grated daikon radish. (5 cm cut of daikon)Chopped Green Onion
Chop the green onion into about 2-3 mm (1 green onion)Ponzu Sauce Recipe:  (2-3 people)
*Soy Sauce <5 tablespoon>
*Vinegar <4 tablespoon>
*Mirin <3 tablespoon>
*Lemon juice < 6 to 9 drops >
1. Mix all the *ingredients together

Sesame Sauce Recipe: (2-3 people)
Ground Sesame Seeds (white) – 2 tablespoon
Mirin – 2 tablespoon
Sugar – 1 tablespoon
Soy Sauce – 1 tablespoon
Mayonnaise – 1 tablespoon
Vinegar – 1 teaspoon
Miso paste – 1/2 teaspoon
Sesame oil – 1/2 teaspoon

1. Wisk Miso paste and Mirin well together until the miso paste becomes smooth.
2. Add all the other ingredients and mix. Then microwave for 1 minute.
3. Wait until it gets cool.

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Preparing Ingredients

1. Cut napa cabbages into about 5 cm pieces, and then cut each piece into half or one-third. (Cut the thick white part into smaller pieces and leaves in bigger pieces.)
2. Cut the shungiku, mizuna green or any other green vegetables into 5 cm pieces.
3. Cut the white part of negi (leeks) diagonally into 1.5 cm thick pieces.
4. Rinse enoki and shimeji mushrooms. Discard the bottom of both mushrooms and separate into smaller chunks.
5. Cut the stem of shiitake mushrooms. You can cut the surface of shiitake mushroom with x-shaped cuts to make shiitake mushroom easier to absorb broth.
6. Cut the carrot into ¼ inch rounds.
7. Cut the tofu into 2 – 3 cm thick square pieces.
8. Prepare udon noodles according to the instructions on the package, such as put frozen udon in a boiling water and reheat for 1 minute or microwave for 2 minutes. Transfer to iced water, and drain well.
9. Arrange all the ingredients on a serving platter.

How to Cook :

1. Set a portable gas burner and put the donabe (pot) with broth on the stove.2. Slowly simmer the broth over low heat. Take out the kombu (Kelp) right before water starts to boil.3. Add the tofu, the tough part of napa cabbage and shungiku or mizuna green, negi leek, carrots, and some mushrooms. Cover to cook for about 10 minutes. * You don’t have to put all the ingredients at once. You will add more ingredients and cook repeatedly as you eat.

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More about Japanese Shabu Shabu ingredients: read here