Shabu-shabu (Japanese: しゃぶしゃぶ), also spelled syabu-syabu, is a Japanese dish prepared nabemono style, and consists of thinly sliced meat and vegetables usually served with dipping sauces. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, but is starkly different in taste; shabu-shabu is more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki.

Ingredients

The dish is traditionally made with thinly sliced beef, though modern preparations sometimes use chicken, duck, or lobster. Most often, tender ribeye steak is used, but less tender cuts such as top sirloin are also common. A more expensive meat, such as Kobe beef, may also be used for its enhanced flavor and texture.

Shabu-shabu is usually served with vegetables, including tofu, Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves, nori (edible seaweed), onions, carrots, and enoki mushrooms.

Preparation

The dish is prepared by submerging a slice of meat or vegetable in a pot of boiling water 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".) Fully cooked meat is usually dipped in sesame seed sauce, and vegetables in ponzu sauce before eating with a bowl of steamed white 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.

History

The dish originated in the 13th century as a way for Genghis Khan to efficiently feed his soldiers. In contrast to modern shabu-shabu preparations where each person cooks in their own pot, Khan's troops originally 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 reintroduced in Japan in the 20th century with the opening of a shabu-shabu restaurant in Osaka. The cuisine rapidly spread through Asia and is now a popular dish in Western countries as well. Together with sukiyaki, shabu-shabu is a common dish in tourist hot-spots, especially in Tokyo, but also in local Japanese villages (colloquially called "Little Tokyo" villages) in countries such as the United States.

See Also

Hot pot

External links

• The History of Shabu Shabu (http://web.archive.org/web/20020913034814/tgssm.co.kr/~haendel/sanghoon/ShabuShabu.htm)