Shabu-shabu.
Sounds interesting and exotic, doesn't it?
My
wife and I were introduced to this dish during a cruise trip this winter. The
ship's restaurant said shabu-shabu is Mongolian in origin.
Here's
Wikipedia:
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, nori (edible seaweed), onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and enokitake
mushrooms. In some places, Udon, Mochi and/or harusame noodles may also be served.
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 kombu (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 ponzu or "goma" (sesame seed)
sauce before eating with a bowl of steamed white rice.
Once
the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover water (now broth) from the pot
is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually
eaten last. (wikipedia.com)
Let's
get to the recipe, shall we?
Mongolian
Shabu-Shabu
2
cans (32 oz) high quality organic beef broth or homemade beef stock 32 oz
of water 1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced (think Mongolian spaghetti!)
1 large carrot, thinly sliced Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced Enokitake
mushrooms (they look like bean sprouts) 1 onion, cut into long but thin strips
Thinly sliced beef (ask your butcher for the most tender cuts of meat they have)
Cooked rice
Bring
broth and water to a good boil. Add carrots and onions and let soup return to
boil.
Drop
in mushrooms and cabbage. Let soup come back to a boil. Stir.
Test
the carrots. You want everything tender.
Lower
heat to simmer.
Using
a speared prong or fork, wrap meat around instrument and dip in broth. Cook to
desired doneness -- ask your guests how they like their meat.
Serve
meat on top of vegetables on a plate. Ladle soup and rice into two bowls.
This
meal tastes even better when eaten by chopsticks.
This is actually
quite a common way of eating in Korean and Chinese cultures, though getting more
popular in Korean restaurants these days. The sesame-based dip is key, and it's
quite a healthy dish, given the cooking method and ingredients, eh? Some Chinese
and Korean folks just put all the ingredients in the water at one time and then
eat straight from the pot.
Enokitake
(didn't know the name until reading it in your e-mail) is added to a lot of different
Korean soups, and I know for a fact that they're readily available in Korean and
Chinese supermarkets throughout Toronto, so I imagine that you'll find some at
a local Asian food store. Even though they're wildcrafted these days in our part
of the world, they're really nice, eh?
Click
Here to
share this page with your friends, website visitors, ezine readers, social followers
and other online contacts.
Disclaimer:
Throughout this website, statements are made pertaining to the properties and/or
functions of food and/or nutritional products. These statements have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these materials and products
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.