Shabu Shabu!

Shabu Shabu!

I can't remember the first time I had Shabu shabu the way I can remember the first time I had a zucchini squash blossom. All I know is, it was love at first bite. Or love at first swish. Or love at first taste? Love at first experience. Shabu shabu isn't just a dish, but it's a way of life. Shabu shabu is Japanese hot pot,and it means "swish swish", which is the action or noise you make when you swish your meat into the soup broth. It contains an array of raw vegetables, very thinly sliced raw meat, and tofu, cooked in a broth. The vegetables and tofu are served on a plate, and the broth is typically cooking on a table stove in a large pot. What I love about this meal is that it's interactive, and everyone gets to be involved in the process. I don't care if it's 102 degrees outside, put a hot pot in front of me, and all bets are off. I could eat shabu shabu 7 days a week if I had the resources.

This is a fairly easy recipe, albeit the ingredients are unique, and hard to find in a normal grocery store. I found an Asian market two blocks away from my house, and I live in the Mission District, which has a heavy Mexican influence. I'm sure wherever you live, you can find these ingredients close enough. I went to the Ferry Building to get thinly sliced beef, but one thing I did not think about or realize is that the beef needs to be very very cold and slightly hard for a butcher to slice it cleanly and so thinly. So I went at lunch to order it, and came back after work to pick it up.

The recipe I found was from another blog, and you can find the original recipe here. I have tweaked it to work for me, but you are more than welcome to visit the original and go from there to find out what works for you. I added kabocha squash to my recipe, which is pretty typical to find in a shabu shabu house. It is a very healthy and filling vegetable, and the cool thing about kabocha is that you can eat the skin. You can cut the kabocha in half and remove the stem and seeds.

Honestly, my broth sucked. I need to find a better recipe. I honestly free-styled my broth, adding this and that, and I can't even remember all the shit I threw in there. But I will try my best to tell you, and will let you know if I find something better. =) 

If you can conjure up the courage to find your weird shabu shabu ingredients, I highly suggest you invite some friends over, grab a big pot, and get cookin!

Ingredients:

3 inch dried 'kombu' seaweed (this is a form of edible kelp)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes
3 tablespoons red chili flakes
1/2  head of napa cabbage, washed and cut
1 package enoki mushrooms, stalks removed and pulled apart
1 head broccoli 
8 shiitake mushrooms, stem removed
2 inch carrot, peeled and cut into thin round slices
1 kabocha squash, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch slices
1 package shimeji mushrooms, stalks removed and pulled apart
1 block medium/firm tofu, cut into 1.5 inch square
1 leek, washed and cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
4 green onions, chopped 
1 1/2 - 2 lb sirloin beef (or pork loin), sliced very thinly, or buy pre-sliced ‘shabu shabu’ meat
1 package udon
Sesame Sauce
Ponzu Sauce
Grated Daikon
Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven flavor Chili pepper)

Directions:

1. Fill a clay pot or large pot (such as Le Creuset) two-thirds full with water. Add the dried seaweed and soak kombu in the water for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 beef bouillon cubes, green onion, shichimi togarashi, and red chili flakes.

2. Prep vegetables and both ponzu and sesame sauces.

 Image taken from girlcooksworld

3. Cut and wash your enoki. A good way to look at it is the image below, taken from the original recipe

4. Arrange all the ingredients on a serving plate. Give each guest a bowl of rice and a bowl for cooked food, and a sauce dish for each ponzu sauce and sesame sauce.

5. Over the kitchen stove, simmer your large pot of water over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Take out the kombu when the water starts to boil.

6. Bring the broth to the boil. Add napa cabbage, broccoli, shungiku, carrots, some mushrooms, kombocha squash, and tofu. You want to start with the food that will take the longest to cook.

7. Now bring the pot of boiling broth to the table. Each person can cook their own beef by dipping a slice in the boiling broth with chopsticks. Swish it gently back and forth until the meat changes color (roughly 7-10 seconds).

8. Enjoy the meat by dipping in either sauce. You can add grated daikon and shichimi togarashi in ponzu Sauce. Take out the cooked food from the pot as they are done and dip them in either sauce.

9. Add remaining ingredients as necessary in the boiling broth and simmer for a few minutes. This is when I add my udon noodle, and cook for a few minutes. Flavor udon with just bit of salt and white pepper or dip in ponzu Sauce.