The next time you’re looking for an impressive meal for a date night, or for entertaining people, or just because, try this unusual method of cooking.
My husband and I first encountered shabu-shabu style cooking in Stillwater at a local restaurant called Tokyo Pot. The restaurant serves you your choice of raw meat or fish and a plate of vegetables to be cooked fresh at your table in your own soup pot full of savory broth. Shabu-shabu is a Japanese variant of hot pot and the name shabu-shabu is derived from the “swish swish” motion used when cooking the meat in the pot. The dish consists of thinly sliced meat and vegetables which are usually served with dipping sauces. The meat is sliced so thin that it literally cooks in seconds. Soon we came to realize that we loved this style of cooking so much that the $60+ we spent of eating out could be spent on a lot more food at home.
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( See that eager face in the background? That is my furry baby Mr. K. He enjoys hot pot, too and was just waiting for us to drop something for him.) |
I set out to recreate the eating experience at home. I soon discovered we lived near a great Asian market that catered to the population of Asian students in Stillwater. It had fresh kimchi (as fresh as fermented cabbage can be) and homemade steam buns, fresh produce that you can’t always find at Wal-mart, and delicate, thin slices of beef and lamb available for hot pots. The hot pot that we had at the Japanese restaurant had slices of carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, noodles, tofu cubes, and beef in a teriyaki broth. Nothing extremely exotic, but not always available at your normal grocery store.
I purchased the ingredients and soup mix for the bargain price of about $30 (half the price and we could feed at least twice the people!). I splurged on a butane stove in order to be able to cook at our dinner table (or while camping) but you do not need a butane stove. You can re-create this dish without it.
This dish is great for older children, but I would caution trying shabu-shabu with children younger than 8 or 9 years of age, but feel free to serve the stove-top method to anyone.
Shabu-shabu
Serves 4
1 lb thinly sliced beef, lamb, or pork*
1 lb Chinese (Napa) cabbagea
4 thinly sliced carrots
1 bunch green onions
Shiitakea or white button mushrooms
Rice noodles
Chop vegetables into bite sized pieces that can be eaten with chopsticks, fondue forks, or can be retrieved with a slotted spoon.
Teriyaki Broth
2 qt. beef stock
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sugar
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
Mix all ingredients together.
Sesame Dipping Sauce
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. rice vinegara
1/2 tbsp. sesame oila
Mix all ingredients together.
Shabu-shabu method
The paper thin slices of meat only take a few seconds to cook, however, the fresh vegetables take a little longer. When you first place the pan on the heating element at your table, add the carrots, mushrooms, and green onions in the broth and allow to come to a low boil. Use chopsticks or a fondue fork to place a piece of meat in the simmering broth. Swish and stir the meat until you see it change colors. For medium cooked meat, swish for 3-4 seconds. For well-done, cook for 6-8 seconds. Place cabbage into cooking broth and allow to cook until desired texture is achieved. Cook for a few seconds for tender crisp, or longer for a softer texture with less crunch.
Dip meat and vegetables in the sesame sauce and eat!
When all the meat and vegetables are gone, enjoy the hot broth.
Cooking on the stove
Place broth, carrots, green onions, and mushrooms in a soup pot. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until carrots are soft.
Arrange raw beef and cabbage in a bowl. Ladle very hot broth over meat and cabbage. Wait until the meat has cooked to your preference of done.
*Sukiyaki or hot pot ready meat is available at Asian food markets, however not many of those are around rural Oklahoma. Instead, freeze the meat for about 1 hour. Partially frozen meat can be sliced thinly with a sharp knife against the grain.
aIngredients are usually available at Walmart year round in the produce section or Asian section; however if you cannot find them, just use what you can find.
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