Shabu-shabu (샤브샤브) (Japanese: しゃぶしゃぶ), is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The dish uses thinly sliced meat and vegetables and is usually served with dipping sauces. It is considered a winter dish but is eaten year-round.
[edit] Ingredients
The dish is traditionally made with thinly sliced beef, though modern preparations sometimes use pork, crab, chicken, duck, or lobster. Most often, tender ribeye steak is used, but less tender cuts such as top sirloin are also common.
Shabu-shabu is usually served with tofu and vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves, edible seaweed, onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and enokitake mushrooms. In some places, udong may also be served.
[edit] Preparation
The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) made with kelp and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish".) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in a sesame seed sauce before eating with a bowl of steamed rice.
Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover water from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last.
[edit] History
The dish originated in the 13th century as a way for Genghis Khan to efficiently feed his soldiers[1]. Mongol troops gathered around a large pot and cooked together. Thinly sliced meat was used for its short cooking time, which allowed the Mongolian army to conserve its limited supply of fuel.
- Shabu-shabu was introduced in Japan in the 20th century with the opening of a shabu-shabu restaurant "Suehiro"[2] in Osaka. The name of Shabu-shabu was named when Suehiro served it. After that, Suehiro registered the name of shabu-shabu as a trademark in 1955. The cuisine rapidly spread through Asia and is now a popular dish in Western countries as well.
