The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Make a splash with a hot-pot party
Ring in the new year with shabu-shabu.
Ah, New Year’s Eve. The night before hope pairs with prosperity, peace and – with any luck – newly acquired profits in the year to come. A time to reflect on what’s been, and what lies ahead; when time stops just long enough for that big silver ball to drop, and resolutions can be made.
Humankind has been enjoying some form of New Year’s celebration since the keeping of a calendar was coupled with convivial social function.
In America, it’s also the “amateur hour” of all-too-familiar fetes that often involve more frivolity than fortitude. Options seem limited to the usual: braving the crowds with dinner and a party out (Zzzzz), hosting a celebration of your own (what? Another party?), or spending the night on the couch with a bottle of bubbly watching the ball (or Peach) drop.
Opt for number two – and here’s why: Communal dining. You can participate in an ancient custom and start a new tradition of your own at the same time. Many cultures bring friends to the table for sundry occasions, from Asian hot pots to French fondue and Swiss raclette. The idea of cooking food together – not just dining on it – is practically Paleolithic. After all, a dinner party of this sort requires social organization. Who knew division of labor could be so fun?
Hot pots are an easy entryway into communal dining, and can involve as few as two participants or as many as 10. Purportedly inspired by the Mongolian hot pot, the table is set with a hot pot (remember that Betty Draper-esque fondue set you’ve been meaning to throw out? Now’s the time to use it), plus thinly sliced meat and a bevy of bite-sized veggies. Are there rules? Not really.
“But there are lots of traditions,” said food writer John Kessler. Former dining critic and food writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kessler was the first person who came to mind when I began to research hot pots. He
lived in the Kobe region of Japan for a year, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of food, especially Asian food, and uber-especially Japanese food. The first time I ate Japanese shabu-shabu, a traditional Japanese hot pot (nabemono), was at his house. The name means “swish swish,” and references the swishing sound the meat makes as its dipped in hot broth to cook.
“Shabu-shabu is common in this region of Japan because it utilizes famous Kobe beef,” said Kessler. He recommends using a ribeye or sirloin cut for marbling, but said the Japanese are fond of lamb, too.
The idea is to heat a broth (the Japanese tradition is to flavor the broth with kelp, or kombu, but a simple vegetable broth will suffice) over a hot pot or donabe casserole. It’s easy to heat the broth on the stove first, then transfer to the tabletop for guests to cook their own meat and vegetables.
Have the meat sliced “paper
thin” by your butcher, or buy it at local Asian superstores such as Super H Mart. “Most Korean barbecue spots on Buford Highway will have meat like this as well,” Kessler recommended.
Make sure the meat is cut into individual pieces once it’s sliced. Create small platters of meat for each guest, as recommended by Shizuo Tsuji in his classic cookbook, “Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art” (Kodansha International Ltd, 1980 and 2006 revised), or enough larger platters to distribute across the table.
From meat, move to vegetables: Chinese (napa) cabbage, sliced green onions, shiitake mushrooms, firm tofu and carrots are a must, according to Kessler, but traditional shabu-shabu will also include shirataki (bean thread noodles), fu (wheat gluten) and kikuna (edible chrysanthemum leaf ), according to Tsuji. All should be cut into bite-size pieces and placed on platters for guests to reach easily.
Rice is always a part of the Japanese table, and shabushabu is no exception. Rice bowls are traditionally provided to eat with any broth that’s left after cooking the meat and vegetables – a “sop” in much the same way Westerners use bread with jus or gravy.
As for the pot, use a fondue pot or buy a traditional hot pot at an Asian grocery store – either will suffice. To cook at the table you’ll need a sterno, or whatever apparatus your hot pot requires.
Last, shabu-shabu is always served with dipping sauces – traditionally a citrus-y ponzu sauce and a sesame sauce. “You can buy both at Tomato, a Japanese grocery store with locations in Norcross and Marietta,” said Kessler, “but if you go the route of making your own, the trick is to use roasted sesame seeds for sesame sauce.”
It sounds a little complicated, but it’s not. Celebrate with true Japanese tradition, or interpret with your own ideas. Can’t find chrysanthemum leaves? Leave them out. Want to use chicken instead? Go for it. Don’t like rice? No worries. Once you’ve got the meat and veggies, just make (or buy) your sauces, light your pot and start swishing the New Year in.