Japanese cuisine · Soups & Stews

Shabu-Shabu

Wafer-thin beef slices are swished for seconds through simmering kombu broth and dipped in sesame or ponzu sauce.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 600 g beef (very thinly sliced)
• 1 piece kombu (10 cm)
• 1/2 napa cabbage
• 200 g shiitake mushrooms
• 2 leeks
• 300 g firm tofu
• 200 g spinach
• 4 tbsp light sesame paste (tahini)
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Soak the kombu in 2 liters of cold water for 20 minutes, then heat slowly and remove just before it boils — this keeps the broth clear.
2. For the ponzu, stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and lemon juice; dry-toast the sesame seeds, crush in a mortar, and stir smooth with the sesame paste and 4 tbsp broth.
3. Cut the napa cabbage into wide strips and the leeks diagonally into pieces, split the shiitake into thick slices, and wash the spinach.
4. Cut the tofu into large cubes and arrange everything decoratively together with the meat on two platters.
5. Let the broth simmer gently on the tabletop burner and cook the firm vegetables in it first for 3–4 minutes.
6. Everyone swishes a slice of meat with chopsticks through the broth for 10–15 seconds until it just turns from pink, then dips it into one of the two sauces.