Sun 9 Apr 2006
I had posted a comment on another blog, likening the Japanese shabu shabu to the Chinese hot pot, and received a response from Wilco claiming that shabu shabu is “totally different” from hot pot. So today, Mr. W and I had lunch at House of Shabu Shabu in Irvine.
Shabu shabu is a much more organized meal than the chaotic everything-goes hot pot. The concept is the same: pot of boiling water/broth in front of you, you order plates of raw vegetables and thinly sliced meat, which you boil in the liquid and then take out, dip in seasoned sauces, and eat. Shabu shabu, however, differs in precisely the reasons that I don’t like hot pot. There’s a delicious ponzu sauce for the meats and a separate sauce for the vegetables. I don’t like how the hot pot sauce makes everything taste the same, and “the same” isn’t even as good as the flavors of the shabu shabu sauces. This shabu shabu place also comes with a bowl of rice and some udon with noodle sauce that you eat in the end with the broth (which should be flavored by all the stuff you dump in there when you’re done with the meat and veggie consumption).
I will definitely eat shabu shabu again. And I still don’t like hot pot.
I don’t think we have either of those here…. and I thought this town was diverse.
I just looked to see if we have one too.. NO… we don’t. But this is interesting:
History
The dish originated in the 13th century as a way for Genghis Khan to efficiently feed his soldiers. In contrast to modern shabu-shabu preparations where each person cooks in their own pot, Khan’s troops originally gathered around a large pot and cooked together. Thinly sliced meat was used for its short cooking time, which allowed the Mongolian army to conserve its limited supply of fuel.
Shabu-shabu was reintroduced in Japan in the 20th century with the opening of a shabu-shabu restaurant in Osaka. The cuisine rapidly spread through Asia and is now a popular dish in Western countries as well. Together with sukiyaki, shabu-shabu is a common dish in tourist hot-spots, especially in Tokyo, but also in local Japanese neighborhoods (colloquially called “Little Tokyos”) in countries such as the United States.
See also
Hot pot
Japanese cuisine
Chinese hot pot is still one large pot w/everyone gathered around it dipping in with their own little wire scoops. It’s rather a social meal. I should link my old blog entry regarding this to this entry.
shabu shabu is always made with just boiling water. i didn’t have a chance to fully describe shabu shabu to you, but one of the reasons why i like shabu shabu so much is because of the simplicity and elegance of the meal. the flavors of the food are complemented with the sauces, not just drowned out with hot pot.
i like chinese hot pot a lot, too, but shabu shabu is still king for me.
i’m glad that you had an open mind about it and tried it out. i’m also glad that you liked it.
I do try to keep an open mind to keep from missing out on stuff I could’ve been enjoying this whole time.
i like shabu shabu! i just went to the one mike had recently gone to. i went twice, actually, and gonna go again today! we will go when you are here.
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