Name: Shabu-shabu (Beef Swished in Kelp Broth)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1.5 L water; 20 g dried kelp; 2 tbsp sake; 400 g beef; 300 g napa cabbage; 1 stalk leek; 1 handful shungiku; 100 g enoki mushrooms; 100 g king oyster mushrooms; 200 g firm tofu; 200 g shirataki noodles; 50 g carrot; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 3 tbsp citrus juice; 2 tbsp dashi; 1 tbsp mirin; 3 tbsp sesame seeds; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp mirin; 0.5 tsp sugar; 100 g daikon; 3 stalks spring onions; 2 portions udon noodles

Ingredients

3servings

Broth
water1.5 L
dried kelp · soaked 30 min in cold water, lifted out before it boils20 g
sake · optional; keeps any meatiness in check2 tbsp
For the pot
beef · sirloin or chuck flap, sliced 1.5mm for shabu-shabu400 g
napa cabbage · ribs and leaves cut separately300 g
leek · on the bias1 stalk
shungiku · goes in at the very end1 handful
enoki mushrooms100 g
king oyster mushrooms · sliced flat100 g
firm tofu200 g
shirataki noodles · blanched first200 g
carrot · sliced thin; the slowest thing in the pot50 g
Ponzu
soy sauce3 tbsp
citrus juice · yuzu, lemon or lime3 tbsp
dashi · a ladleful from the pot works2 tbsp
mirin1 tbsp
Sesame sauce
sesame seeds · toasted, then ground3 tbsp
soy sauce2 tbsp
mirin1 tbsp
sugar0.5 tsp
To serve
daikon · grated, into the ponzu100 g
spring onions · finely sliced3 stalks
udon noodles · for the finish; rice works too2 portions

Steps

Wipe the kelp with a damp cloth and soak it in 1.5L of cold water for 30 minutes. Do not rinse it — the white bloom on the surface is savouriness.
⏲ 30 min
Cut the vegetables meanwhile: cabbage ribs and leaves apart, carrot thin, king oyster flat, tofu in 3cm pieces. Arrange them on a platter in the order they go in and there is nothing to work out at the table.
⏲ 10 min
Blanch the shirataki for 2 minutes and rinse, so its smell does not spread through the whole broth.
⏲ 2 min
Mix the ponzu and the sesame sauce and divide them into individual bowls. Top the ponzu with grated daikon and spring onion.
⏲ 5 min
Heat the kelp water gently and lift the kelp out before it boils — when the surface just trembles, around 80°C. Boiled kelp turns the broth slippery and bitter.
⏲ 8 min
Add the sake and hold the broth at 85-95°C. A rolling boil toughens thin beef instantly and clouds the broth with scum. This temperature is the line between shabu-shabu and sukiyaki.
⏲ 2 min
Add what takes longest first: carrot, then cabbage ribs, then tofu and king oyster, then shirataki. Give it 3-4 minutes so the vegetables lend the broth something.
⏲ 4 min
Hold one slice of beef in your chopsticks and swish it for 5-10 seconds. Lift it the moment the red goes — that swishing sound is the name of the dish.
⏲ 1 min
Dip it in ponzu or sesame sauce and eat it straight away. Do not put several slices in at once: the broth cools, and any slice you lose track of turns tough.
⏲ 1 min
Between slices, add the cabbage leaves, enoki and leek, and skim the scum off the surface with a ladle. This broth gets eaten at the end, so it is worth keeping clean.
⏲ 5 min
Shungiku goes in for the last 30 seconds — out again before the scent leaves.
⏲ 1 min
When the meat and vegetables are gone, cook the udon in the broth for 2 minutes to finish. Everything the beef gave up is in there, so a pinch of salt is all it needs.
⏲ 3 min

Tips & Variations

Variations

Change the broth. Soy milk shabu-shabu (tonyu) is half kelp broth, half soy

milk — mild and nutty. Tomato, white kimchi brine and curry broths are all common. The stronger the broth, though, the further back the beef sits.

Other proteins: pork (buta-shabu) wants the broth slightly hotter and 10-15

seconds. There are fish versions too — buri-shabu with yellowtail, tako-shabu with octopus — where the kelp broth matters even more.

Cold shabu blanches pork, chills it in cold water and serves it with

vegetables and ponzu; a summer dish.

Make both sauces. Ponzu cuts the fat with acid, sesame sauce wraps around it.

Alternating between them is how 400g of beef stays interesting.

Compare it with sukiyaki, which uses the same thin beef and the

same kind of pot. Sukiyaki puts flavour in with sugar and soy; shabu-shabu draws flavour out into the broth and finishes it in the dipping sauce. That is why nobody drinks sukiyaki's liquid and shabu-shabu's is the last course.

Tips

Do not let the broth boil. This is the mistake that spoils the dish. At a

rolling boil: thin beef turns tough in five seconds, protein rises as scum and clouds the broth, and the noodles at the end taste of nothing. Keep the surface barely trembling (heat control).