This recipe was updated on 30 Aug 2016. The Cantonese
translation for Shabu Shabu was added to the title.
Shabu Shabu is a Japanese dish where thinly sliced meat is swished
in a hot broth (the name coming from the noise the meat makes as it is moved
through the broth) with chopsticks before dipping in a sauce and eating. I
bought Shabu Shabu beef at my local Japanese market and used it in a stir fry
instead. The quality of meat used to make Shabu Shabu beef is of high quality.
The highest quality coming from Japanese Wagu or Kobe beef, where the marbling
of the fat makes the meat melt in your mouth (and with a corresponding high
price!). I’ve been fortunate enough to have this dish and that highest quality
of beef when I traveled in Japan.
While I didn’t use that quality of beef for this dish, the American
beef was still of high quality and was cut from the prime rib into thin slices.
I usually use baking soda to tenderize the meat before marinating. In this
case, there’s no need for baking soda since the beef quality is so good and it
so thinly sliced. The beef is cut further into smaller strips to make it easier
to eat in a stir fry dish. Using Shabu Shabu beef in a stir fry is similar to
using other cuts of beef (like flank or flap meat), but since the beef is
sliced so thinly, the cooking time is quicker. The mouth feel when the dish is
eaten is also different because the beef has more surface area.
Enjoy!