Beef Shabu-Shabu
Greg Dunmore
Shabu-shabu can be ready to enjoy with about 30-minutes' work! Plan ahead and start the dashi one day ahead (or keep some in your freezer). You'll find already-sliced beef at Asian markets or ask your butcher to slice it for you. For Beef Shabu-shabu I like to make two dipping sauces: one with sesame & ponzu, and the other with sesame oil & salt.
Ingredients
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1½ quarts Dashi made with Aimono Rausu Konbu & Matoba Suisan Katsuobushi Thin Shavings
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½ cup Suehiro Ponzu Sauce
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4 tablespoons Wadaman Organic Golden Sesame Paste
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6 tablespoons Wadaman Organic Golden Sesame Seeds, lightly ground
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¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Wadaman Dark Golden Sesame Oil
- 4 teaspoons sea salt
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- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 negi or 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
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1¼ lbs strip steak, cut into ⅛-inch slices or thinner
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½ head Napa cabbage, core removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 oz firm tofu, cut into 1½-inch cubes
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5 oz mushrooms (shimeji and/or oyster), trimmed and pulled apart
- ½ bunch shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), or spinach (not the baby kind)
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8 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1½-inch cubes
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Yamatsu Tsujita Shichimi Togarashi
- Leftover cooked rice
- 6 eggs, well-beaten
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10 to 12 chives, thinly sliced
Directions
Pour the dashi into the donabe and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As the dashi is heating, you can make the 2 dipping sauces.
Distribute the ponzu, sesame paste, and sesame seeds equally into 4 dipping bowls. Set aside.
Evenly divide the dark sesame oil and sea salt into 4 more small dipping bowls. Set aside.
Once the dashi comes to a boil, add the soy sauce, sake, and mirin, and bring back to a simmer. Drop in the negi or scallions and cook for about 30 seconds. Add a few slices of meat, some of each of the vegetables and tofu. As they finish cooking, dip them into either of the sauces eat. Continue to simmer the broth, cooking & eating for as long as you like. Sprinkle with the shichimi togarashi if you would like some extra heat. Once you have eaten all the vegetables, tofu, and meat, you’ll have left a wonderful full-flavored broth which you will use for the Shime “bonus course”:
For the Shime, bring the remaining broth to a boil, add the rice and simmer until the broth starts to thicken like a porridge. Turn off the heat, stir in the beaten eggs, and let stand, covered, for 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture should be a cross between a custard and egg drop soup (with rice of course). Divide the cooked rice among as the 4 bowls. Top with chives and serve.