Day 105 - Shabu Shabu

This post is for PM's mom. ;P

The husband and I had shabu shabu at home. Shabu is super easy to make at home and is so much cheaper. The only thing is that eating at home means you have to clean up after yourself.

Ingredients (replicating from California Shabu Shabu) - most ingredients can be found at an Asian market:

• Garlic (chopped)
• Daikon radish (chopped)
• Green onions (chopped)
• Spinach
• Napa cabbage (sliced one inch sized)
• Enoki mushroom (found at a Korean or Japanese market)
• Carrots (cut in cubes)
• Broccoli (cut in smaller pieces)
• Soft tofu
• Clear noodle
• Udon
• Beef, chicken, pork or seafood
• Ponzu shabu sauce (for dipping, found at a Korean or Japanese market)
• Sesame shabu sauce (for dipping, found at a Korean or Japanese market)
• Soup base
• Chili oil (for water)
• Hot water in a pot

The veggies are cheap but the sauces are more expensive. Each bottle is about $ 5 to $ 8 a bottle but can be used several times.

I am picky with the ponzu sauce so we have tried three different brands! Ponzu sauce is a citrus-based sauce used in Japanese cuisine. Each brand is slightly different so my recommendation would be to try out a few to see which one suits the individual. The left bottle - Mitsukan ponzu sauce - more soy than sour. The middle bottle is the husband's favorite and it is some Japanese brand that has no American name - definitely more citrus than soy. The right bottle is Mizkan goma shabu ponzu sauce. I like this bottle although I think it can use a bit more citrus. Really - ponzu sauce is probably pretty easy to make since it's basically just soy sauce, lemon and maybe water. Chili oil to add to the hot water and to add a bit of flavor. I also add some soy sauce to the water to give it more flavor (optional).Noodle soup base for the udon and Mizkan sesame dipping sauce. This one is the best and only one I've seen.Clear noodle to go with the soup base.Udon also to go with the soup base. To prepare:

1. Wash and cut all the veggies.
2. Chop the garlic - this can be added to the hot water, ponzu or sesame sauce. I like adding it to the ponzu sauce.
3. Chop the daikon - this is added to the water or the dipping sauce.
4. Chop the green onions - this is added to the hot water.
5. Add water to a pot and place on portable burner or electronic burner.
6. Wait for water to boil - then add veggies and meat.

Enjoy! :D

Oh - the soup base is used towards the end when you want a bowl of noodle soup. Add all the udon and clear noodle to the water. Add about one or two tablespoon of the soup base to a bowl. After the noodle has cooked - add to the bowl with the soup base and some of the broth.