Shabushabu

Servings: 2

Ingredients
250-300g beef shabu-shabu slices
300g Chinese cabbage (about 4 large leaves)
2 shallots (scallions)
4 shiitake mushrooms (medium size), stems removed
100g chrysanthemum leaves (Shungiku)
1 pack of shirataki (konnyaku yum noodles)
1 pack tofu

— Optional —
1 Package enoki mushrooms, trim the end and pulled apart
Pork loin or chicken breast; sliced very thinly
10 Baby bok choy, cut into quarters
2 carrots
2 Cups beech mushrooms
1 package udon noodles

Broth
1L water
20cm long 10cm wide konbu (dried kelp)

Sesame Sauce
2½ tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
1 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp konbu dashi (from Broth above)
¼ tbsp sugar
¼ tbsp vinegar

Ponzu
5 tbsp ponzu

To Serve
A portable cooktop that can be placed on a table
A thick large pot , a very deep skillet or a Japanese donabe (clay pot used for hotpot)
4 small bowls for dipping sauces
A ladle and a small bowl with water

Instructions
Preparation
Cut the konbu into 2-3 short pieces and place in a pot with 1L water. Soak for 30 minutes.
Bring the water with konbu to a boil over high heat. As soon as small bubbles start rising, remove the konbu. The broth is ready for Shabu-shabu.
Cut Chinese cabbage leaves crosswise into 4cm (1½“) long pieces. If the leaves are very wide, cut the leaves vertically in half first.
Cut the tofu into small cubes.
Cut shallots diagonally into 10cm long pieces. Cut shiitake mushrooms in half diagonally. If chrysanthemum leaves are long, cut them into two.
Rinse shirataki and spread the bunch of strands on the cutting board, then cut into two or three portions so that each noodle is short (easier to pick them up).
Plate the vegetables and beef slices on a large serving plate, clustering each ingredient together (see the photo in the post).

Sesame Sauce
Finely grate roasted sesame seeds in a mortar & pestle until they become slightly wet (oil from sesame seeds).
Add the remaining Sesame Sauce ingredients to the mortar. Mix the sauce mixture well so that there are no lumps of miso paste. Leave it until required.

Serving
In the centre of the dining table, place the broth in a pot on a portable cooktop with a ladle and a bowl of water next to it.
Place the plate of meat and vegetables near the cooktop and two medium-sized bowls per diner with Sesame Sauce and Ponzu in each bowl.
Bring the broth to a boil.

Eating
Pick a slice of beef with chopsticks and shake a few times in the boiling water (about 10 seconds or so) to cook the meat. Then, dip the meat in the sauce of your choice and eat.
Cook all the meat first so that you will have a better broth to cook the vegetables in.
Add a small amount of vegetables of your choice to the broth and cook until tender. Dip the meat in one of the sauces to eat.
After cooking beef slices, scum will surface. Use the ladle to remove the scum (try not to take too much broth with it) and wash it off in the bowl of water. Repeat this throughout the cooking as you see scum surfacing.