habu Shabu is a well-known Japanese sizzling pot the place everybody on the desk cooks collectively. Diners swish marbled meat, tofu, and greens in a gentle broth and luxuriate in it with savory dipping sauce. It’s an intimate but informal meal that’s enjoyable and simple to drag off at house.
Sizzling pot is the last word cold-weather consolation meals. It’s a vigorous, communal meal that everybody enjoys cooking collectively on the desk. Whereas we now have many sizzling pot recipes in Japan, I counsel beginning with Shabu Shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ). I’ll information you thru the simple prep and cooking steps so you may share this dish at house with your loved ones and buddies.
For those who’re craving extra sizzling pot recipes, attempt my Yosenabe, Sukiyaki, and Mille-Feuille Nabe subsequent!
What’s Shabu Shabu?
Shabu shabu is Japanese onomatopoeia for the “swish-swish” sound of cooking the meat and greens within the gentle dashi broth. It’s one in every of Japan’s hottest sizzling pot dishes the place the diners cook dinner the meal collectively on the desk in a communal Japanese clay pot (donabe). Whereas sizzling pot could have originated in Interior Mongolia and China, this traditional Japanese variation was invented within the early Fifties at Suehiro restaurant in Osaka.
Why I Love This Recipe
- No pre-cooking wanted: Simply lower the substances and let everybody cook dinner it on the desk. I really like not cooking earlier than dinnertime!
- Gentle and nutritious: Every thing cooks in sizzling broth, not oil. It’s a low-fat cooking methodology and an effective way so as to add greens and tofu to your weight loss program.
- It’s fast and simple: As a busy mother, I make this easy and low-effort meal in the course of the holidays or on a weeknight.
Elements for Shabu Shabu
- Kombu (dried kelp) and water
- Thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye; effectively marbled)
- Medium-firm tofu
- Shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and shimeji mushrooms
- Napa cabbage
- Shungiku (chrysanthemum greens)
- Tokyo negi (lengthy inexperienced onion) – or use the white a part of a leek or inexperienced onions
- Carrot
- Udon noodles – frozen or parboiled
- Sesame sauce and ponzu sauce – for dipping
- Grated daikon radish, chopped inexperienced onions/scallions, and shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) – for the sauce condiments
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Kombu dashi: We at all times use soup inventory made with dried kelp for this dish. Merely drop a chunk of kombu in a pot of water and let it steep. That’s it! For those who can’t discover kombu, you should use one other dashi.
- Thinly-sliced beef or pork: Choose well-marbled meat labeled “for shabu shabu” from a Japanese or Korean grocery retailer. For those who can’t discover it, you may slice good-quality chuck or rib eye your self utilizing my Find out how to Slice Meat Thinly tutorial.
- Dipping sauces: You’ll find bottled ponzu (citrus soy sauce) and creamy sesame sauce on Amazon or at an Asian/Japanese grocery store. I just like the contemporary style of my Selfmade Ponzu Sauce and Selfmade Sesame Sauce recipes, so please give them a attempt!
- Shungiku and Tokyo negi: Attempt a Japanese or Asian grocery retailer for harder-to-find produce like shungiku, lengthy inexperienced onion, and Japanese mushrooms. Or, you may swap your selection of leafy greens and greens.
Key Kitchen Instruments or Key Tools
Find out how to Make Shabu Shabu
Preparation
Step 1 – Put together the broth and reheat the udon. Soak the kombu and water in a donabe for no less than half-hour. In the meantime, for those who’re going to serve udon noodles on the finish of your sizzling pot meal, reheat the frozen udon in boiling water. Drain and put aside on a plate.
Step 2 – Reduce the greens. Reduce the napa cabbage, shungiku, carrots, and Tokyo negi into bite-sized items. Grate the daikon and chop the inexperienced onion and place in small bowls.
Step 3 – Prep the mushrooms and tofu. Break the shimeji and enoki into smaller chunks and lower the shiitake stems. Reduce the tofu.
Step 4 – Prepare the platters. Set the tofu, mushrooms and greens on one plate and the meat on one other. Place them on the desk together with the donabe and transportable burner.
Cooking
Step 5 – Cook dinner the dense greens. Deliver the dashi to a boil over medium warmth; take away the kombu simply earlier than boiling. Add the tofu, thick components of the napa cabbage and shungiku, carrots, and a few mushrooms. Simmer till cooked.
Step 6 – Cook dinner the meat. Briefly swish the meat within the broth till now not pink.
Step 7 – Serve and preserve cooking. Self-serve the cooked meals because it’s prepared and dip in sauces to get pleasure from.
Step 8 – Skim and add the leafy greens. Cook dinner till tender and serve. Cook dinner the meat as you’re able to eat, and benefit from the different substances whereas restocking the pot alongside the way in which.
Step 9 – Make the udon ending course. After the primary course of the meal, warmth the noodles and serve within the bowls of ponzu sauce diluted with shabu shabu broth.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Use a pot that retains warmth – We use a Japanese earthenware pot known as donabe (土鍋) that distributes and retains warmth effectively. You could possibly additionally use a heavy-bottomed pot or an electrical sizzling pot.
- Use paperthin meat – The well-marbled beef provides taste to the broth and the skinny slices take seconds to cook dinner. Merely swish the slices within the broth with cooking chopsticks and watch out to not overcook it.
- Prep all of the substances beforehand – Cooking goes rapidly, so be certain all the things is able to go earlier than you begin.
- Cook dinner the meals so as – Begin cooking the dense greens first till tender, then briefly swish the thin-sliced beef within the sizzling broth and serve. Add the smooth leafy greens afterwards and cook dinner till tender.
- Decide one particular person to cook dinner the meat – This manner, everybody will get meat on the identical time. They’ll serve on to the person bowls across the desk as every bit is finished cooking.
- Clear the broth as you cook dinner – Skim off the scum and foam from the floor with a fine-mesh skimmer to maintain the broth as clear as doable.
- Cook dinner in batches – In case your cooking vessel can’t match all the things, cook dinner a primary spherical with a portion of the substances. Then, cook dinner one other spherical as you eat and make extra room within the pot.
Variations and Customizations
- Use different proteins. We usually cook dinner sizzling pot with thinly sliced beef and pork, however sometimes, we cook dinner seafood or hen as in my Hen Sizzling Pot known as Mizutaki.
- Add completely different greens. Attempt cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, different leafy Asian greens, and candy corn (lower in sections).
- Use rice for the ending course. As a substitute of udon, add cooked Japanese rice to make a porridge with the flavorful broth. Stir in crushed eggs so as to add additional substance and protein.
- Make it vegan/vegetarian. Merely omit the meat. The dashi, tofu, udon, and dipping sauces are all plant-based shabu shabu substances. For better selection, I counsel including a combination of tofu, akin to grilled tofu or tofu puffs.
Storage Ideas
To retailer: You may preserve the leftovers in an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge for 3 days or within the freezer for a month.
- 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (1 piece per giant donabe; 10 g, 3 x 3 inches, 7.5 x 7.5 cm per piece)
- water
- 1 serving udon noodles (8.8 oz, 250 g frozen or parboiled udon noodles; 3 oz, 90 g dry udon noodles)
- 8 leaves napa cabbage (12 oz, 340 g)
- ½ bunch shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) (4 oz, 113 g)
- 1 Tokyo negi (naga negi; lengthy inexperienced onion) (white half solely; 4 oz, 113 g; or use 1 leek or 2 inexperienced onions)
- 1 package deal enoki mushrooms (7 oz, 200 g)
- 1 package deal shimeji mushrooms (3.5 oz, 100 g)
- 4 shiitake mushrooms (2.3 oz, 65 g)
- 2 inches carrot (2.3 oz, 65 g)
- 1 package deal medium-firm tofu (momen dofu) (14 oz, 396 g)
- 1 lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) (4–5 oz, 113–140 g per serving)
For the Sauces and Garnish
Stop your display from going darkish
To Put together the Inventory
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Fill 1 giant donabe clay pot (or Dutch oven or any heavy-bottomed pot) two-thirds filled with water. Add 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) and soak for no less than half-hour. In the meantime, put together the opposite substances. The fitting picture reveals the kombu dashi after half-hour. Word: Use 1 piece of kombu per giant donabe. For those who‘re doubling this recipe, use two donabe and put 1 piece of kombu in every pot.
To Put together the Sizzling Pot Elements
To Put together the Garnishes and Beef
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Peel 2 inches daikon radish and grate it (I exploit a ceramic grater). Squeeze it gently to take away many of the liquid and put the grated daikon in a small bowl.
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Reduce 2 inexperienced onions/scallions into skinny rounds and put it in a bowl.
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Put together non-compulsory shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) in a bowl. Lay the 1 lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) on a platter.
To Cook dinner the Shabu Shabu
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Arrange a conveyable gasoline range on the desk and put the donabe on the burner. Place the platters with the substances on the desk. Give every particular person their very own bowls of ponzu and sesame dipping sauce. I additionally put together a shallow bowl for every diner to chill their meals.
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Deliver the broth to a simmer over medium warmth. Take out the kombu proper earlier than water begins to boil (in any other case, the water will get slimy).
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Add the tofu, powerful components of napa cabbage and shungiku, negi, carrots, and a few mushrooms. Reserve the softer, leafy greens to cook dinner later. You don’t must put all of the substances in without delay; cook dinner in batches, for those who favor. Cowl to cook dinner for 10 minutes.
To Eat the Shabu Shabu
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Whilst you’re ready for the meals to cook dinner, put together your dipping sauces. Add the grated daikon, shichimi togarashi, and inexperienced onion to the ponzu. Add the inexperienced onion to the sesame sauce.
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Whenever you‘re able to eat the meat, choose up a chunk of thinly sliced beef with a set of communal cooking chopsticks. Stir or “swish“ the meat within the boiling broth and cook dinner for 20–30 seconds or till the meat is now not pink; watch out to not overcook it.
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Serve the meat, greens, mushrooms, and tofu as soon as cooked and benefit from the meals dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce.
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Skim off the scum and foam from the floor, particularly after cooking the meat, to maintain the broth as clear as doable. Then, add the softer, leafy greens to the broth as you make room within the pot. Simmer for a couple of minutes and serve. Cook dinner the meat as you are able to eat, and benefit from the different substances whereas restocking the pot alongside the way in which.Tip: Put together a fine-mesh skimmer and a 2-cup measuring cup full of water so you may simply skim as you cook dinner on the desk. The water will assist clear the skimmer.
To Make the Udon Course
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Whenever you’re performed cooking the substances, skim the broth one final time to organize for the udon noodles. Sometimes, a sizzling pot meal ends with cooking udon noodles or porridge.
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Add the udon noodles to the pot and reheat for 1–2 minutes. Frivolously season the broth with salt and white pepper, for those who‘d like (non-compulsory).
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Dilute the person bowls of ponzu sauce with the broth and serve the udon noodles in every bowl.
Energy: 477 kcal · Carbohydrates: 35 g · Protein: 38 g · Fats: 21 g · Saturated Fats: 8 g · Polyunsaturated Fats: 1 g · Ldl cholesterol: 69 mg · Sodium: 178 mg · Potassium: 1036 mg · Fiber: 8 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 3133 IU · Vitamin C: 31 mg · Calcium: 238 mg · Iron: 5 mg
Editor’s Word: This publish was initially printed on December 2, 2011. It was up to date with a brand new video and new photographs in December 2018. It was republished with extra useful content material on April 11, 2025.
