Shabu-shabu is a popular Japanese hot pot dish. Shabu–shabu is a nabemono dish (one pot meal) usually eaten from a shared pot, and frequently cooked at the table. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabemono It is similar to sukiyaki but more savory and less sweet. Shabu-shabu stock is very clear with little to no seasonings at all. The cooked ingredients are seasoned by dipping it into the shabu–shabu dipping sauce before they are eaten.

The most common ingredients for shabu–shabu are Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum’s leaves, onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, enokitake mushrooms, kombu or Japanese kelp to make the dashi stock, and beef as the center of the dish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabu-shabu If you don't have kombu at hand, you can use instant dashi granules to make the dashi stock.

Shabu-shabu in Japanese means “swish-swish”. http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/japan/shabushabu.html The name refers to the sound the beef makes when it is cooked in the hot pot. The beef used in shabu–shabu should be paper thin.You can ask the butcher to cut it for you, or you can cut the beef yourself with the method described in this guide.

Cooking shabu–shabu involves preparing the sauce, the stock, and the raw ingredients. The meal is usually cooked at the dinner table and eaten immediately. You can learn how to cook shabu-shabu from making the sauce, preparing the ingredients, to cooking the ingredients in this page.

This recipe uses variety of raw ingredients aside from beef. You can add or reduce the amount of raw ingredients listed in this recipe. You can also use superior beef such as wagyu beef. This recipe will serve four people.

Equipment

• 1 hot pot
• 1 portable stove
• several plates
• 4 condiment bowls
• 8 bowls
• 4 chopsticks
• 4 spoons
• 4 small ladles

Ingredients

• 4 bowl of rice, for serving

For the dashi stock:

• 10 cups of water
• 1 4 inch/ 10 cm slice of kombu
• 2 tsp salt

Raw ingredients:

• 1/2 lb/ 250 g shabu – shabu beef, or you can make it yourself with sirloin beef
• 1/2 lb/ 250 g Chinese cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 1 green onion
• 4 shiitake mushrooms
• 4 tofu
• 1/2 lb/ 250g prawn
• 1 packet of udon noodles, optional
• 8 fish balls, optional

For the Ponzu sauce:

• 1 cup shoyu
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp grated daikon
• 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/4 tbsp grated garlic
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Make the dashi stock:
   1. Soak the dashi in water for 30 minutes
   2. Heat the water and remove the kombu when the water is about to boil.http://japanesefood.about.com/od/onepotdishes/ss/howtoshabushabu.htm
2. Make the dipping sauce:
   1. Boil all the liquid ingredients with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved. ##Mix with the sesame and grated ingredients.
3. Pour to individual condiment bowls.

To make the shabu-shabu beef:

1. Freeze the beef in the freezer until half frozen.
2. Use a very sharp knife or cleaver, slice the beef as thinly as possible.http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/thinly-sliced-beef-cutlets-bistro-gravy/

1. Discard the stem from the Chinese cabbage and slice into 2 inch long slices.
2. Peel and slice the carrot diagonally into 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm thick slices.
3. Chop the stem of the shiitake mushrooms and make an X cut on the caps.
4. De-shell and de-vein the prawn.
5. Slice the tofu into 2 inches/ 5 cm wide cubes.
6. Slice the green onion diagonally into thin slices.
7. Place the vegetables on one dish and the beef on another dish. Place the prawn with the fish balls, udon, and tofu.

1. Place the hot pot on a portable stove at the center of a table.
2. Arrange the raw ingredients around the hot pot.
3. Place an empty bowl, a bowl of rice, a pair of chopsticks, a condiment bowl with the dipping sauce, a ladle, and a spoon on the table in front of every seat.
4. Half fill the hot pot with the stock and turn on the portable stove.
5. First, add the ingredients with the longest cooking time such as napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage, carrots, udon, and mushrooms. Cover and wait until the hot pot boils.
6. Add the next ingredients: prawn, fish balls, green onion, and tofu. Cover and wait until the ingredients are cooked.
7. Each person serves themselves from the hot pot with the ladle or chopsticks.
8. To eat the beef, pick the beef with a chopstick and dip it into the hot pot for few seconds, swishing it back and forth.
9. Continue to add ingredients and cook the shabu – shabu until every one has their fill. If the stock has reduced too much, add more stock to the hot pot.
10. Eat the remaining soup with the rice to finish the meal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabu-shabu