Shabu Shabu 101
Have you ever wondered what a Shabu Shabu is? On my most recent trip to Singapore, nearly every single Japanese restaurant claims that this dish is one of its highlights. Puzzled, I searched the internet and found a few information about this famous Japanese dish.Shabu shabu is a Japanese hot pot meal is actually imported from… where else but China. Figures. Nearly everything is made in China. Hmph.
So back to the dish. The primary ingredient for Shabu Shabu is thinly sliced pieces of raw meat, – pork, beef or chicken – tofu, cabbage, lotus root, and mushrooms. Dipping sauces, whether sesame seed sauce and a ponzu dipping sauce will do. All these are cooked in a nabe, which is brought to the dining table.
So how do we eat Shabu Shabu? Unfortunately, geniuses, it is not as easy as picking it up with a fork and shoving it down your throats. Eating Shabu Shabu seems to be bit more complicated than that. You need to lift the meat off the platter with the backs of your chopsticks, swish it a few times in the hot broth until it turns brown. You then dip it into one the sauce, lifting it out of the sauce with the eating side of the chopsticks. The vegetables are sometimes dropped into the pot and each vegetable actually varies on the length of its cooking time.
A lot of Shabu Shabu restaurants in Singapore offer an option for endless plates of meat, so meat-lovers, feast on this dish! After the meat is consumed, the soup is strained and poured into a cup with udon noodles and is consumed.
A lot of Japanese restaurants have been popping up like mushrooms in Cebu recently. Find one and try out their Shabu Shabu.
