Shabu Shabu
From elgourmand2 8 years ago
- 2 hrs to make
- Serves 4
I love Jap Crap. I lived in Hawaii for the better part of 20 years and became addicted to Japanese food. In Hawaii you can get truly authentic, delicious Japanese food. The only place in Samoa I know of where you can get Japanese food is at El Gourmand’s joint. Read more A couple days ago I got this tremendous yen for Japanese: Ponder, ponder, sip a bit of Saki, ponder again and Shabu shabu comes to mind. This is a very easy dish and I had everything I needed, including the Kombu. You should find Kombu in the Asian section of your supermarket, or at an Asian grocery. The way you cook Shabu, shabu is everyone sits around a central pot of boiling Kombu broth and swishes the meat & veggies from their plate in the broth, then into a dipping sauce and ichi bon. The veggies I list are pretty basic so if you want to add things you think will go with this, do that. Keep in mind that all veggies need to be sliced very thin so they will cook quickly. Looking at this recipe, it seems a lot more complicated than it is. It’s really a simple dish. I tried to dot every i & cross every t, so the directions are verbose. You slice some veggies and some steak, swish them around in some broth and eat them. How hard is that? This recipe is for four adults. Quantities are, as always, sorta and more or less. See less
Ingredients
- Utensils shopping list
- First off you will need a good sized (3 quarts at least) electric pot or a pot on a standalone electric or gas burner. This will need to generate a fair bit of heat as you want the broth to keep simmering while four people keep dipping meat and veggies in it. I have a Shabu pot, a gift from a friend, many years ago, but a good electric pot works fine. This needs to hold at least 2 quarts (2 liters) of liquid, with 3 inches (7.5cm) head space. shopping list
- A container of very hot water to top up the Shabu pot. You want to keep about 2 quarts of broth in the pot and as people cook the level will drop a bit. A Thermos jug works well here. shopping list
- Ingredients: shopping list
- • About 2 ½ - 3 inches (6 – 7.5cm) Kombu stick, Can sub a sheet or two of nori if necessary. This will make your broth. I have known people to use a light chicken broth in a pinch. shopping list
- • 1 lb (500g) Chinese or Napa cabbage cut crosswise in about ½” (1.25cm) wide slices. shopping list
- • 1 block of firm tofu, cut into bite size bits. shopping list
- • A few medium shrimp, peeled & de-veined, optional but very nice. shopping list
- • ¼ lb. (250g) Spring onions sliced thinly on the diagonal, white and light green part only. shopping list
- • 16 fresh asparagus spears, dark green part only. shopping list
- • 8 to 12 portabella mushrooms sliced thick. Any mushrooms will do here. shopping list
- • 1 or 2 medium carrots, cut into long thin slices. shopping list
- • 2 medium zucchini, cut into long thin slices. shopping list
- • 1 - bunches of bean sprouts. shopping list
- • 1 ½ - 2 lbs lean, tender steak, fat removed & sliced paper thin. You might want to get your butcher to run this through his slicer. Shabu thin is THIN. shopping list
- • 1 - 2 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips. shopping list
- • 1 package of Soba or udon type noodles. Any of the soft Japanese noodles will work. Do not use any dried noodles. You want the ones that are soft and wet when you buy them. shopping list
How to make it
- 1. Prep the veggies. You are not going to mix these so put each item on its own plate or in its own space on the platter, for the moment.
- 2. Prep the shrimp, if using.
- 3. Slice the meat, if you didn’t have the butcher do it.
- 4. You can wrap all of these and keep them in the fridge a while, if you do them ahead of time.
- 5. About 45 minutes before you’re ready to sit down & eat, put about 2 quarts of cold water in your pot. Add the Kombu, cover and let stand for 30 - 45 minutes. See Photo
- 6. While the Kombu soaks it’s time to divide your meat and veggies into 4 equal portions, on their own plate or platter See Photo. This is so half the people don’t have to reach around the table to get what they want to swish next.
- 7. After 30, or so, minutes, turn on the pot and let it start to heat When the broth is just about to simmer take out the Kombu. If you boil the Kombu the broth will be too strong and a bit bitter. If using nori, it will dissolve and stays in. See Photo
- 8. When the broth starts to simmer you’re ready to shabu shabu.
- 9. Swish the meat, tofu and veggies around in the broth until just cooked; 10 seconds, or less.
- 10. Dip in the sauce of your choice and enjoy.
- 11. Add hot water as needed to maintain about 2 quarts of liquid in the pot.
- 12. When all the meat and veggies are gone add the noodles to the pot and allow to simmer a few minutes.
- 13. You have, of course, created a rich & tasty soup, while cooking all the meat and veggies and the noodle soup at the end will be delicious.
- 14. Ladle the resulting soup into bowls and enjoy.
- Dipping Sauces:
- • Light soy sauce & ginger. Infuse a light soy sauce, like Kikkoman, with fresh ginger to taste.
- • Light soy & Chile sauce. Mix light soy sauce and sweet Chile sauce together, to taste.
- • Fancy: 1/3 cup white sesame seeds, 3 Tbs. mirin, 1 ½ Tbs. sugar, 2 Tbs. rice vinegar, 3 ½ Tbs. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. grated garlic, 1/2 - 2/3 cup dashi soup.
- I usually start this meal with some pickled veggies and a bit of sashimi or, if I’m feeling energetic, Sushi. You can probably buy Sushi but I have to make it. Also, if I’m sitting down to a Japanese feed that little bowl of steamed rice has to be there See Photo. At least one jug of Saki is a must. See Photo
People Who Like This Dish 2
- Ladybug_MrsJ Ottawa, Canada
- twill10 Cape Girardeau, MO
- elgourmand2 APia, Samoa
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