I read once that shabu shabu – well, any sort of Asian hot pot dish – can be traced back to Genghis Khan, who wanted his soldiers to eat quick but healthy meals on the march, and had them cook it in their upturned helmets. I’m not sure if that’s at all true, but on our last night in Tokyo, Niles and Sam and I had some very delicious shabu shabu, cooked on an electric tabletop grill. It was delicious AND fun. The vegetables in the boiling water end up making a delicious little broth, and the thin slices of beef cook up in seconds. I was addicted to the restaurant’s ponzu, and I ended up dipping everything in it, from bites of rice to the beef and pork, to the mushrooms and sprouts I snatched out of the rapidly boiling water.
Apparently, the name “shabu shabu” means “swish swish”, the sound of swishing your meat back and forth in the boiling water.
Shabu shabu’s one of the few things that I’m not entirely sure if we can find in Chicago, although Yelp looks like there are a few places that offer it. It wouldn’t be that hard to make on my own, except you’d need a tabletop grill, or maybe just a hot plate?
Okay, NOW this might be the last comic I post about our Tokyo trip!
Shabu shabu is delicious and fun! And, so very versatile.
My husband and I use an electric wok to make ours and it works great.
PS: I’ve been loving the Tokyo comics. Thanks for sharing your trip!
I feel like a just walked by a sushi place here in Chicago that offered Shabu Shabu but for the life of me, I can’t remember where the heck it was. Also, I had no idea what it was but now I do! I look forward to Shabu Shabuing it up in the future!
I LOVE SHABU SHABU. It’s so easy and so delicious.
Hi Lady!
Thanks for the garlicky goodness that now hanging in my tiny kitchen! Have you been to Lao Sze Chuan in Chinatown? They do the hotpots there, but it’s probably not exactly Shabu Shabu. Hope you’re well!
There is a place in Chicago that I know does Shabu-Shabu. It’s Joy Yee Noodle PLUS and it’s located in Chinatown Square, actually in the old spot that Joy Yee used to own. They also do sushi and fro-yo there.
Of course, if you’re in Chinatown, there are a LARGE number of “hot pot” places doing the exact same thing, and I even know of a few that are all-you-can-eat hot pot where they’ll keep bringing you meats and veggies and whatnot!