Pork Shabu-Shabu (Sesame Sauce and Ponzu)

Name: Pork Shabu-Shabu (Sesame Sauce and Ponzu)
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 2–3
Ingredients: Pork loin, shabu-shabu slices 300g; Napa cabbage 1/8 head (about 300 g); Mizuna (Japanese greens) 1 bunch; Japanese leek (naganegi) 1 stalk; Enoki mushrooms 1 bag (about 100 g); Firm tofu 1/2 block (about 150 g); Dashi granules (Japanese soup stock) 1 tsp; Ponzu 6 tbsp; Sesame sauce (goma dare, bottled) 6 tbsp; Water About 1.2 L (1 L + 200 ml to add later); Sake (Japanese rice wine) 2 tbsp

🍲 Cooking for a group

Serves 2–3 · About 30 min
A hot pot where you swish thin slices of pork in simmering dashi and eat them with vegetables, dipped in sesame sauce or ponzu.

① Cut the vegetables and tofu→② Get the dipping sauces ready→③ Simmer the vegetables in dashi→④ Swish the pork→⑤ Skim the scum and keep going

What to buy

Meat

Pork loin, shabu-shabu slices300g

Vegetables

Napa cabbage1/8 head (about 300 g)Mizuna (Japanese greens)1 bunchJapanese leek (naganegi)1 stalkEnoki mushrooms1 bag (about 100 g)

Tofu

Firm tofu1/2 block (about 150 g)

Seasonings

Dashi granules (Japanese soup stock)1 tspPonzu6 tbspSesame sauce (goma dare, bottled)6 tbsp

Check what you already have

WaterAbout 1.2 L (1 L + 200 ml to add later)Sake (Japanese rice wine)2 tbsp

Tap an item to check it off (checks clear when you close the page).

How to make it

Cut the vegetables and tofu

About 10 min

Pull off the napa cabbage leaves one by one and wash them. Cut the white stems 3 cm wide and the green leaves 5 cm wide
Cut 1 cm off the root end of the mizuna, then cut into 5 cm lengths
Cut the long green onion diagonally 5 mm wide
Cut 3 cm off the root end of the enoki and pull apart into small bunches by hand
Take the tofu out of the pack, put it on the cutting board, and cut into 6
Arrange the vegetables and tofu on a large plate. Spread the pork slices out one by one on another plate

How to tell it's doneYou have 2 plates ready: one of vegetables and tofu, and one of pork.

Get the dipping sauces ready

About 2 min

Get 2 small dishes for each person
Put 2 tbsp sesame sauce in one and 2 tbsp ponzu in the other (for 3 people, 6 tbsp of each)

How to tell it's doneEveryone has a small dish of sesame sauce and one of ponzu in front of them.

Heat the dashi and simmer the vegetables

Medium → Medium-low heatAbout 5 min

Put 1 L water, 1 tsp dashi granules and 2 tbsp sake in a clay pot or deep pot and bring to a boil over medium heat
Add the napa cabbage stems, enoki and tofu and simmer about 5 min
When cooked, turn to medium-low heat

How to tell it's doneThe napa cabbage stems are see-through. The surface of the dashi is gently bubbling with small bubbles (not boiling hard).

Swish the pork

Medium-low heat20–30 sec per slice

With serving chopsticks, pick up one slice of pork, put it in the dashi spread out, and swish it back and forth
When it has all turned whitish, lift it out (20–30 sec) and dip it in the sauce you like
Add napa cabbage leaves, mizuna and green onion a little at a time too, and eat them after 30 sec–1 min

How to tell it's doneThe pork you lifted out has no pink left anywhere.

Be carefulUse separate serving chopsticks for picking up raw pork and your own chopsticks for eating. Don't put in a lot of meat at once (the dashi cools down and the meat takes longer to cook).

Keep going while skimming the scum

Medium-low heatUntil you finish eating

Skim off the brownish foam (scum) that comes up on the dashi with a ladle and throw it away
When the dashi gets low, add 200 ml water, and wait until it's bubbling before adding meat

ReadyThe dashi stays clear and gently bubbling.

📚 Learn more about this dish

🥬 Ingredient guide

Dashi Naganegi (Japanese leek)Tofu

🔪 Cutting & cooking tips

Aku (scum)Boiling Heat levels (high, medium, low)Naname-giri (diagonal slices)

If it didn't work out

The meat is toughYou left it in hard-boiling water too long. Use medium-low heat, and lift it out as soon as it changes color.

There was still pink in the meatPut it back in the dashi and wait until the color has all changed. Don't eat it raw.

The dipping sauce gets wateryWater from the vegetables got into the sauce. Drain the vegetables on the ladle before dipping. Add more sauce a little at a time.

The dashi gets cloudyYou didn't skim the scum. Skim it often.

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Made by YUU, a teen who loves cooking → About me