Shabu Shabu

Name: Shabu Shabu
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: Wagyu beef, paper thin sliced, 600g; Kombu (dried kelp), 20g; Napa cabbage, cut into chunks, 400g; Shiitake mushrooms, 200g; Carrot, sliced, 2; Udon noodles, 400g; Ponzu sauce, for dipping; Sesame dipping sauce (goma dare); Spring onions, sliced, 4; Chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku), 100g

しゃぶしゃぶ/SHAH-boo SHAH-boo/

Also known as: Shabu Shabu Hot Pot, Japanese Hot Pot

About this dish

Thinly sliced wagyu beef and fresh vegetables cooked in a delicate kombu broth at the table.

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History & Origin

Shabu shabu is a Japanese hot pot dish whose name is onomatopoeic — the sound of thinly sliced meat being swished through hot broth. It was introduced to Japan from China and popularised in Osaka in the 1950s at a restaurant called Suehiro. The dish became associated with premium wagyu beef. The two dipping sauces — ponzu (citrus-based) and goma dare (sesame) — allow the diner to choose their flavour journey through the meal. The enriched broth at the end of the meal, called shime, is considered the most flavourful part.

Ingredients

🥩Wagyu beef, paper thin sliced, 600g

🌊Kombu (dried kelp), 20g

🥬Napa cabbage, cut into chunks, 400g

🍄Shiitake mushrooms, 200g

🥕Carrot, sliced, 2

🍜Udon noodles, 400g

🫙Ponzu sauce, for dipping

🫘Sesame dipping sauce (goma dare)

🧅Spring onions, sliced, 4

🌿Chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku), 100g

Method

Serves 4

Place the kombu in 1.5 litres of cold water and heat slowly. Remove the kombu just before the water boils — boiling kombu makes the broth bitter and slimy.

Arrange all the raw ingredients beautifully on platters in the centre of the table. Prepare the ponzu and sesame dipping sauces in individual bowls.

Place the pot of hot kombu broth in the centre of the table on a portable burner. Maintain a gentle simmer — never a rolling boil.

To cook the beef, hold a slice with chopsticks and swish it in the broth for 10-20 seconds only. Wagyu should be eaten rare to medium-rare.

Cook vegetables, tofu and mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. Add noodles towards the end of the meal.

At the end, the enriched broth can be seasoned with salt and drunk as a soup — this is called shime and is the best part of the meal.

✓ What Makes it Authentic

Remove kombu just before it boils or the broth turns bitter. Beef must be sliced paper thin. Never boil the broth hard.

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