''Shabu-shabu'' ( ja, しゃぶしゃぶ, shabushabu) is a Japanese ''

nabemono ''Nabemono'' (鍋物, なべ物, ''nabe'' "cooking pot" + ''mono'' "thing"), or simply ''nabe'', is a variety of Japanese hot pot dishes, also known as one pot dishes and "things in a pot". Description Nabemono are stews and soups containing ...

'' hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces. The term is

onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', '' ...

, derived from the sound – "swish swish" – emitted when the ingredients are stirred in the cooking pot. The food is cooked piece by piece by the diner at the table. Shabu-shabu is generally more savory and less

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, keto ...

than ''

sukiyaki is a Japanese dish that is prepared and served in the ''nabemono'' (Japanese hot pot) style. It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a ...

''.

History

''Shabu-shabu'' was introduced in Japan in the 20th century with the opening of the restaurant "Suehiro" in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, where the name was invented. Its origins are traced back to the Chinese

hot pot Hot pot or hotpot (), also known as soup-food or steamboat, is a cooking method that originated in China. A heat source on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, and a variety of Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients are served b ...

known as instant-boiled mutton (''Shuàn Yángròu''). ''Shabu-shabu'' is most similar to the original Chinese version when compared to other Japanese hot-pot dishes (''

'') such as ''

''. The president of the restaurant "Suehiro" in Osaka Chūichi Miyake registered the name as a trademark in 1952. Shabu-shabu became more and more popular in the Kansai region and in 1955 it was also added to the menu of restaurants in Tokyo and then spread throughout Japan. Together with ''sukiyaki'', ''shabu-shabu'' is a common dish in many parts of Japan, but also in local Japanese neighborhoods (colloquially called " Little Tokyos") in countries such as the United States and Canada. It is also popular in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Preparation

The dish is usually made with thinly sliced beef, but some versions use pork, crab, chicken, lamb, duck, or

lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

. Most often, ribeye steak is used, but less tender cuts, such as top sirloin, are also common. A more expensive breed of cattle, such as

Wagyu Wagyu ( ja, 和牛, Hepburn: ''wagyū'', ) is the collective name for the four principal Japanese breeds of beef cattle. All wagyū cattle derive from cross-breeding in the early twentieth century of native Japanese cattle with imported stoc ...

, may also be used. It is usually served with

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super fi ...

and vegetables, including

Chinese cabbage Chinese cabbage (''Brassica rapa'', subspecies ''pekinensis'' and ''chinensis'') can refer to two cultivar groups of leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group (napa cabbage) and the Chinensis Group ( bok choy). These ...

, chrysanthemum leaves, ''

nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus '' Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi o ...

'' (

edible seaweed Edible seaweed, or sea vegetables, are seaweeds that can be eaten and used for culinary purposes. They typically contain high amounts of fiber. They may belong to one of several groups of multicellular algae: the red algae, green algae, and br ...

), onions, carrots, and

shiitake The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine. T ...

and

enokitake ''Flammulina filiformis'' is a species of agaric (gilled mushroom) in the family Physalacriaceae. It is well known for its role in Japanese cuisine, where it is called ''enokitake'' (榎茸, エノキタケ, ) and is widely cultivated in East ...

mushrooms. In some places, ''

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

'', ''

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ...

'', or '' harusame'' noodles may also be served. The dish is prepared by submerging a thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water or ''

dashi is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ...

'' (broth) made with '' konbu'' (kelp) and stirring it. Normally, the raw meat is dipped into the hot stock for just a few seconds, as the pieces are sliced paper thin so they will cook quickly. Putting all meat into the pot at one time may result in overcooking the meat. Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in '' ponzu'' or ''

goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the w ...

'' (sesame seed) sauce before eating, and served with a bowl of steamed

white rice White rice is milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed. This alters the flavor, texture and appearance of the rice and helps prevent spoilage, extend its storage life, and makes it easier to digest. After milling ( hulling), the ...

General order to put ingredients into the pot

# "shabu-shabu" some meat (The meat "dashi" will add some depth to the soup.) # add ingredients which need some time to cook such as carrots, shiitake-mushrooms, chinese cabbage etc.) # add ingredients which are fast to cook such as tofu, green onions, mizuna and Chinese cabbage leaves. Once the meat/fish and vegetables have been eaten, the soup stock will remain in the pot. The leftover broth from the pot can be customarily combined with rice, ramen or udon and the resulting dish is usually eaten last and called "Shime" in Japan. 　 The variation with rice is also called

Zosui , or , is a mild and thin Japanese rice soup akin to a rice-based vegetable soup. It is made from pre-cooked rice and dashi or water seasoned with either soy sauce or miso and cooked with other ingredients such as meat, seafood, mushrooms, and v ...

Sauces and dippings

A variety of sauces can be used to dip the meat and vegetables, including ''ponzu'' sauce and sesame sauce. Restaurants usually provide soy sauce, sesame paste,'' ponzu'' and several other condiment options, such as

spring onions Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

and Japanese pickled carrots, so customers can make the sauce according to their own preferences.

Shabu-shabu variations across Japan

Most commonly meat (beef, pork or chicken) is used for Shabu-shabu but recently there are also increasing variations with vegetables or fish. For the variation with vegetables lettuce or sliced

radish The radish ('' Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten ra ...

can be used. The fish variations are usually made with yellowtail (japanese: buri), amberjack (japanese: Kanpachi) or sea bream (japanese: tai). For some other more rare Shabu-Shabu variations octopus or crabs are used. When the cooked meat is served cold, it's called "Rei-shabu". Rei-shabu is often sold in convenience stores and supermarkets in Japan. Tohoku Region:

Wakame Wakame ''(Undaria pinnatifida)'' is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. As an edible seaweed, it has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and texture. It is most often served in soups ...

Shabu-shabu ("Wakame no Shabu-shabu")

Kansai Region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metr ...

Conger ''Conger'' ( ) is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 2 m (6 ft) or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during ...

(japanese: Hamo) Shabu-shabu ("Hamo-Shabu")

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to th ...

: Yellowtail (japanese: buri) Shabu-shabu ("Buri-Shabu")

Hokkaido Prefecture is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

: Octopus Shabu-shabu ("Tako-shabu") Kagoshima Prefecture: Kagoshima

Kurobuta The Berkshire is an English breed of pig. It originated in the county of Berkshire, for which it is named. It is normally black, with some white on the snout, on the lower legs, and on the tip of the tail. It is a rare breed in the United King ...

Shabu-shabu ("Kurobuta-Shabu")

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...

: Nagoya-kochin (a famous japanese native breed chicken) Shabu-shabu ("Tori-Shabu")

References