A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog on one of my favorite soups, the Vietnamese Pho. Yesterday, I came across a recipe for another delicious, belly warming and fun to eat soup-“shabu- shabu”(roughly translated from Japanese as “swish-swish”).

One of my favorite old movies is Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. In this movie, Jane’s character, Corie, a free spirit type,is recently married to Redford’s character, a stuffed shirt young lawyer named Paul. They live in a cramped 5th floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan with with an eccentric neighbor just above them in the attic space.  In an attempt to be neighborly (and play a little match making with  her single mother and the neighbor), they accept a dinner invitation with the neighbor.

Anyway, after climbing the five floors to the apartment,  and then up to a loft, they are treated to the exotic Shabu-Shabu. Oh, wait…! No! It was not Shabu -Shabu!… My memory has failed me here. For YEARS I thought it was Shabu- Shabu, but after watching the movie again just recently, to my dismay, the dinner was Shwarma -Shwarma AND they went out to eat!  So, even though this dish really has nothing to do the the movie after all, I would still like to share the recipe for Shabu-Shabu. It’s just fun, delicious and warming. I have made it before with two different pots so that one could be beef and the other chicken or shrimp. You can probably get lots of pre-made dipping sauces at your local grocery store to try, if you don’t have the time to make them. Also, although it doesn’t suggest it here in this recipe, I add rice noodles or soba noodles to the pot after all the meat is cooked  and for a bit more flavor, vegetable or chicken broth with fresh ginger slices  instead of just water. This is my version, adapted from Epicurious. com. Not necessarily the classic, but the way I like it. This is just fun to make and eat!

Next time maybe I’ll post a recipe for Swarma-Swarma.

Ingredients

You will need a portable “camp” burner that can be placed in the middle of the table. Amazon has them. I have the MaxBurton 8253, about $30. It is handy for lots of other things, not just for making Shabu-Shabu.

Start the broth:

• Kombu(seaweed)
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, or more if you love mushrooms
• 1 medium knob of organic ginger, sliced thinly
• 8 cups of water or broth
• Bring to a boil and simmer until the mushrooms have reconstituted.
• Transfer the pot to the tabletop burner and keep it simmering.

Prepare the meat:

• 12 to 16 ounces rib-eye steak or tenderloin cut into very thin slices. It helps to partially freeze the meat before slicing. You can use just beef or use both beef and pork (tenderloin) If you have a second burner, you could have a separate pot for shrimp or chicken!

• Arrange steak(chicken, pork or shrimp) on large platter, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Prepare the vegetables:

• 2 cups Napa cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 large shiitake(or other like oyster mushrooms,) mushrooms, stemmed, quartered
• 2 leeks (white and pale green parts only),  or green onions cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 12-ounce container extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• 8 baby bok choy cut in quarters
• Arrange cabbage, mushrooms, leeks, tofu, and spinach on another large platter, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To Serve: