Japanese Food: What is Shabu Shabu?

How to Eat Japan's Hot Pot Meal During Travel to Tokyo, Japan

Sep 23, 2009 Alia Luria

Shabu shabu, translated as swish-swish, is a Japanese hot pot meal of thin slices of meat and vegetables cooked together on the table in a Nabe.

Shabu shabu is a Japanese hot pot meal imported from China. Its name literally translates to "swish swish," the noise that the meat makes as it is swirled through hot broth with chopsticks.

Ingredients for Shabu Shabu

First, a nabe is brought to the table and set up to heat. It is a special pot for the water or dashi broth that the diners use to cook the shabu shabu.

The primary ingredient is thinly sliced meat, usually beef or pork and sometimes chicken, which is brought to the table raw for the diners to cook themselves in the nabe.

Additionally, tofu and vegetables, such as Chinese cabbage, lotus root, and enokitake mushrooms are provided to cook in the broth.

Usually, two dipping sauces are provided, which are traditionally a goma (sesame seed) sauce and a ponzu dipping sauce. Sometimes rice is provided for eating, although, there is usually a choice between rice and noodles with mochi.

At the end of the meal, the broth is combined into a delicious soup with either leftover rice or the noodles and mochi.

Eating Shabu Shabu

The technique for eating shabu shabu is fairly simple. The meat is sliced so thin that it only requires seconds of swishing in the pot. Japanese people will lift the meat off the platter with the backs of their chopsticks, swish it a few times in the hot broth until it turns brown, and then dip it into one or the other sauce, lifting it out of the sauce with the normal eating side of the chopsticks.This keeps germs out of the hotpot and allows everyone to cook with the same pot.

The vegetables are sometimes dropped into the pot depending on how long they should cook, but leaving the tofu in the pot too long will result in it crumbling into a squishy pile. Often, a strainer is also provided to strain fat and vegetable bits from the broth as the meal is eaten.

Many shabu shabu restaurants offer an option for endless plates of meat, so often, Japanese will eat two or three plates of meat before they end the meal.

After the meat is consumed, the broth is strained and poured into a cup with udon noodles and one piece of mochi and consumed as a refreshing finish to the meal.

For an extra special dinner, sometimes shabu shabu is combined as part of a kaiseki, or traditional seasonal meal served in courses, with the shabu shabu being the main course of the meal.

Where to Find Shabu Shabu

Shabu shabu is widely available around Tokyo, and the restaurant ShabuZen was even featured in Lost in Translation (where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson eat lunch and complain about having to cook it themselves). Despite the movie's sarcastic commentary regarding the restaurant, it is a rather upscale Shibuya eatery with nice ambience and very delicious food. Shabu shabut does not have to upscale however.

Shibuya has less expensive options, such as Mo~Mo~ Paradise, where patrons pay ¥1500 ($15) for 90 minutes of shabu shabu eating. While the quality of meat is not nearly as high as ShabuZen, Mo~Mo~ Paradise is a great option for experiencing tasty Shabu Shabu at a reasonable price and quite popular with the locals.

Shabu shabu has also started to find its way outside of Japan as well. It can be found all over the island of Oahu in Hawaii, as well as any metropolitan area that has a large Asian concentration. Recently, even restaurants in less traditionally Asian areas, such as Orlando, Florida, have started to spring up.

If visiting Tokyo, make a point to try shabu shabu. It is a fun and tasty experience. If one is lucky enough to live near a shabu shabu restaurant in the United States, it is a great option for a special meal, although normally too pricey for other than special occasions.

The copyright of the article Japanese Food: What is Shabu Shabu? in Asian Cuisine is owned by Alia Luria. Permission to republish Japanese Food: What is Shabu Shabu? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.