Shabu-Shabu (Japanese Beef Hot Pot)

Paper-thin beef swished in simmering dashi at the table, with ponzu and sesame dipping sauces.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 35 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 55 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g very thinly sliced beef sirloin or rib-eye
  • 1.5 litres water
  • 3 tsp dashi granules
  • 1/2 Chinese leaf, about 400g, cut into 5cm pieces
  • 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin ribbons
  • 100g shiitake mushrooms, halved
  • 100g enoki mushrooms, base trimmed
  • 300g firm tofu, cut into 3cm cubes
  • 4 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
  • For the ponzu: 4 tbsp light soy sauce
  • For the ponzu: 4 tbsp lemon juice
  • For the sesame sauce: 3 tbsp tahini
  • For the sesame sauce: 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • For the sesame sauce: 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • For the sesame sauce: 1 tbsp mirin
  • For the sesame sauce: 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • For the sesame sauce: 3 tbsp water
  • Cooked short-grain rice, to serve

Method

  1. If your beef is not already very thin, freeze it for 1 hour and slice as thinly as possible, about 2mm. Arrange the beef on a platter, and the vegetables and tofu on another.

  2. Mix the ponzu ingredients in 4 small bowls. Whisk the sesame sauce ingredients in another 4 bowls until smooth.

  3. Bring the water and dashi granules to a gentle simmer in a wide, deep pan, ideally on a portable hob at the table, stirring until dissolved.

  4. Add the harder vegetables, carrot and mushrooms, and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the tofu and Chinese leaf. Each person holds a slice of beef with chopsticks, swishes it in the simmering broth for 10 to 20 seconds until no longer pink, and dips it in a sauce.

  5. Continue adding beef and vegetables as you eat. Serve the enriched broth in bowls at the end, with rice.