Shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ, swished beef hot pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Donabe clay pot, or a wide heavy pot
• •Portable tabletop burner
• •Long cooking chopsticks or small wire skimmer
• •Individual tori-zara dipping plates
• •Chirirenge spoons for broth and final rice or noodles

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water in a donabe or wide pot and let it soak for at least twenty minutes, or longer if you have time. The slow soak draws out a clean, rounded flavor without making the broth heavy.

2. 2

   Warm the broth

   Set the pot over medium-low heat and bring the water up slowly. Pull the konbu out when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, before it boils. Boiled konbu can turn the broth bitter and a little slick, and shabu-shabu wants a clear bath, not a strong soup.

   For this dish, konbu dashi is enough. The beef and vegetables will season the broth as the meal goes on, so beginning quietly is the point.
3. 3

   Prepare the table

   Arrange the beef slices on a chilled plate in loose folds, not a tight stack. Set the vegetables, tofu, and shirataki on a platter in small groups so each ingredient is easy to lift. Pour ponzu and goma-dare into individual bowls, with grated daikon, scallion, and shichimi tōgarashi nearby if using.

4. 4

   Cook the vegetables

   Bring the broth to a gentle simmer and add a handful of cabbage, negi, mushrooms, tofu, and shirataki. Let them cook until the cabbage softens and the mushrooms look glossy. They give sweetness to the broth and keep the pot steady between slices of beef.

5. 5

   Swish the beef

   Pick up one slice of beef with chopsticks and swish it through the hot broth for five to ten seconds, just until the red turns pink and the fat softens. Don't leave it in the pot. Thin beef goes from tender to tight quickly, and the whole pleasure is in catching it before that happens.

   Cook one slice at a time. A pile of beef cools the broth and tangles together, which gives you stew instead of shabu-shabu.
6. 6

   Dip and eat

   Dip the cooked beef in ponzu for brightness or goma-dare for richness, then eat it at once. Taste the vegetables as they finish and move them to your dipping bowl. Keep adding fresh vegetables and beef as the table needs them, skimming the surface if foam gathers so the broth stays clean.

7. 7

   Finish the pot

   When the beef and vegetables are gone, taste the broth. It should now be deeper from the meat, mushrooms, and greens. If you like, add cooked udon or rice and warm it gently for a final bowl. This ending is quiet, but it tells you what the whole meal has given back to the pot.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for beef sliced specifically for shabu-shabu, about 1 to 2 millimeters thick. If the slice is thick enough to chew like steak, it is too thick for this method.
• •If you slice at home, freeze the beef until firm but not solid, then use a long sharp knife and cut across the grain. Cold meat behaves; warm meat slumps and tears.
• •Use konbu dashi, not instant powder. There are sensible stand-ins in a kitchen, but here the clean broth is the stage, and powder brings salt before the pot has earned it.
• •Ponzu should be sharp enough to wake the beef, while goma-dare should be nutty and smooth, not sweet and heavy. Two sauces give contrast without hiding the meat.
• •For a meatless table, use konbu and dried shiitake for the broth, then cook tofu, mushrooms, greens, and kuzukiri. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not an apology.

Advance Preparation

• •The konbu can soak in the water overnight in the refrigerator. Remove it as the broth warms, before the water boils.
• •Wash, cut, and arrange the vegetables up to four hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate them so they stay crisp.
• •Keep the beef chilled until just before serving. Thin slices warm quickly at the table, and cold beef is easier to lift cleanly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 770g)