Shabu Shabu Birthday Dinner

Taka was traveling on the 8th, so we took my mom to dinner tonight instead. Taka has always raved about Shabu-Shabu so that's where we went to celebrate her birthday. A great little place in the I-Land tower that sells all you can eat Shabu-Shabu, meats and veggies which you cook in boiling water on your table (see below if you are interested in learning more)...

Shabu-shabu (Japanese: しゃぶしゃぶ), also spelled syabu-syabu, is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, where both uses thinly sliced meat and vegetables, and usually served with dipping sauces. However, it is starkly different in taste; shabu-shabu is more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. It is considered a winter dish but is eaten year-round.

Ingredients - The dish is traditionally made with thinly sliced beef, though modern preparations sometimes use pork, crab, chicken, duck, or lobster. Most often, tender ribeye steak is used, but less tender cuts such as top sirloin are also common. A more expensive meat, such as Kobe beef, may also be used for its enhanced flavor and texture.Shabu-shabu is usually served with tofu and vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves, nori (edible seaweed), onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and enoki mushrooms.

Preparation - The dish is prepared by submerging a slice of meat or vegetable in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) made with konbu (kelp) and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish".) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or "goma" sesame seedwhite rice.

History - The dish originated in the 13th century as a way for Genghis Khan to efficiently feed his soldiers. Khan's troops gathered around a large pot and cooked together. Thinly sliced meat was used for its short cooking time, which allowed the Mongolian army to conserve its limited supply of fuel.

Shabu-shabu was introduced in Japan in the 20th century with the opening of a shabu-shabu restaurant in Osaka. The cuisine rapidly spread through Asia and is now a popular dish in Western countries as well. Together with sukiyaki, shabu-shabu is a common dish in touristTokyo, but also in local Japanese neighborhoods (colloquially called "Little Tokyos") in countries such as the United States."