Shabu Shabu

Shabu Shabu is a fun and delicious meal for a couple or a group - and something you can do at home.

Prepared at the table, Shabu Shabu is a lot like Sukiyaki.  It uses basically the same meats and vegetables, but in this case they are cooked in simmering stock, similar to fondue, Thai Suki or Chinese Hot Pot. This is definitely something you want to try - what a fun family supper!

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Pictured Above: Our waitress shows off a Shabu Shabu nabe. Left: Gregory Hanes, director of the US Meat Export Federation's Tokyo office, is definitely ready for the pot to boil!

To make Shabu Shabu, start with plenty of quick cooking vegetables – here in Japan you are likely to see items such as enoki and shimeji mushrooms, chrysanthemum leaves, mizuna, Chinese cabbage, and negi (a mild Japanese leek) along with a firm tofu and thin slices of high-grade beef or pork – or even seafood.  Usually the veggies and tofu are cut and displayed on one plate, and on another you’ll find paper-thin slices of Wagyu or American beef and juicy, well-marbled pork.

You can use a small Dutch oven, or even a shallow soup pot or wok.  Place the pot on a tabletop burner in the center of the table.  Then fill the pot with water or a light, low-sodium soup stock.  Heat the stock to boiling and you are ready to start! 

Left: Well-marbled pork loin is another great option for Shabu Shabu, or even fish and shellfish. Below: Swish swish - yum!

Give the longer cooking veggies a head start and then add quicker cooking veggies - pick up a slice of meat with chopsticks and swish it in the boiling stock (Shabu Shabu means ‘swish swish’), cooking quickly to rare / medium.  Add ingredients a little at a time and take care not to overcook anything. The meats and veggies are enjoyed in either a soy-based dip with grated daikon, or sesame dip along with a bowl of steaming Japanese rice of course!

Right: Swish swish...Oishi desu!

Have a ladle nearby, you’ll want to skim the stock as it cooks, and when all the meat and veggies are gone, toss in some noodles and enjoy in the tasty stock you’ve created.

Don’t let a shortage of the ‘proper’ ingredients keep you from enjoying this fun, healthy and delicious dish!  It would be hard to find all the classic ingredients in Colorado, and if you did, the kids might turn up their noses anyhow – so feel free to vary the recipe or try new ingredients.  If you like it, how could it be wrong?

Shabu Shabu is a lot of fun and for any night of the week; it’s definitely memorable and appropriate for couples, guests, or the family. Take your time and enjoy!  Here is a Shabu Shabu recipe.

Pictured Above: Takemichi Yamashoji (Yama-san), a meat expert with the USMEF, sharing the finer point of Shabu Shabu. Right: Itadakimasu - Lets eat!

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