Shabu Shabu

About a week ago, Brad and I decided it was time that we did our very own Shabu Shabu. Shabu shabu is done by basically boiling broth (made with sea weed, for example) in a big pot called a nabe. The nabe is set on top of a free standing burner that heats the broth. Once the broth is hot enough, vegetables like mushrooms, cabbage, leeks, etc, are added to the broth. You can also drop in pieces of tofu, dumplings and various meats and fish. The broth cooks the meat rather quickly, so you just "swish" the meat in the broth until it is cooked through. Shabu shabu basically means 'swish swish' in Japanese.

When you take the vegetables and meat out of the broth with your chop sticks, it is dipped in some kind of sauce. There are various kinds of sauces, but our favorite sauce to make is the one pictured below. Our friend Justyna introduced it to us as a sauce that is made at the Chinese New Year. You take an egg (yes, raw) and beat it lightly in a bowl. Add to the egg some ginger, garlic, ground sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, soy sauce...anything you want...and you get a delicious, custom made dipping sauce. Overall, this meal is incredibly flavorful, healthy and easy to make.

So, here are some photos of our shabu shabu! It was so good and comforting on a cold night.

Photos:




Sauce:





Videos: