Shabu shabu is a popular Japanese hot pot dish made with a variety of vegetables along with thin slices of meat that are boiled in water.
This soupy delight features beef but can be alternatively made with the meat of chicken, cow, lamb or duck depending upon your choice and taste.
When the small slices of meat are mixed with water, they make a sound like ‘swish-swish’ and that is how it is given the name ‘shabu shabu’.
Origin & Cultural Significance
Shabu shabu is commonly known as ‘the hot pot dish’. There are a number of theories regarding its origin, the most common theory suggests that Beijing had a popular dish named ‘shuan yang rou’ that used mutton in place of beef combined with water.
This dish was later introduced in Japan after World War II with a modernized version and started being called shabu shabu.
It was initiated by Shoya Yoshida who was a native of Tottori city and launched this dish in his Nijudanya restaurant, which was situated in Kyoto. He was said to be the first to change the main ingredient of shabu shabu from mutton to beef.
This flavorful Japanese dish can be made with numerous variations but we bring you shabu shabu made with chicken as its main ingredient. As this recipe is cooked instantly and served on the tabletop to the diners, so let’s have a quick look at the hotpot procedure of preparing shabu shabu.
Japanese Chicken Shabu Shabu Recipe
Ingredients
- Chicken boneless - 1kg
- Carrots - 4
- Cabbage - 2
- Scallions - 2
- Mushrooms (enoki or shiitake) - 10
- Black pepper - 2 tsp
- Salt to taste
For the ponzu sauce:
- Soy sauce - 1/2 cup
- Lemon juice - 4 tbsp
- Orange juice - 1/4 cup
- Red chilli flakes - 2 tsp
- Water - 1 tbsp
Instructions
- First of all, place a hotpot on top of a portable butane burner and add water in it. Also add salt and black pepper according to your taste in water. Place this burner in the centre of the table to prepare the broth.
- Cut carrots, cabbage, scallions and mushroom and assemble them on a serving plate. Place this plate of vegetables with the hotpot on the table.
- Take another plate and place the chicken strips on it. Pop this plate with the vegetables platter.
- Now prepare the ponzu sauce by mixing lemon juice, fresh orange juice, soy sauce, red chilli flakes and water.
- Take a small bowl and add ponzu sauce on it and place this on the table too. There must be a separate bowl of ponzu sauce for every individual person on the table.
- Place separate chopsticks for every single person too.
- Once your broth starts boiling, reduce the burner and at first add in the carrots and cabbages. Leave them for around 3-4 minutes so that they are cooked slightly. Then add the mushrooms and spring onions and leave for another 2 minutes.
- Now add the chicken strips in the broth. As the strips are very thin, it may take around 4-5 minutes for the chicken to get cooked. Watch the meat as it changes its colour and then it is ready to eat.
- It’s time to take your ingredients out of the broth. Take the vegetables out using chopsticks and dip them in the ponzu sauce. Similarly pull out the chicken strips and dip them too in the sauce.
- Now assemble these delicious sauce-coated ingredients on your rice platter. Your mouth-watering shabu shabu platter is ready.