Shabu-Shabu
Shabu-Shabu
Shabu-shabu is one of Japan's great communal dining experiences, gathering everyone around a shared pot of simmering dashi or water at the centre of the table. Paper-thin slices of beef — or pork, or seasonal vegetables — are swished briefly through the hot broth until just cooked, then dipped in one of two traditional sauces: a sesame-based goma dare or a citrus ponzu. The name of the dish literally describes the sound the meat makes as it is swirled through the broth, and there is something deeply pleasing about that onomatopoeic simplicity.
The success of shabu-shabu at home depends heavily on having the right equipment. The pot needs to be wide enough to allow several people to cook simultaneously without crowding, and the broth needs to stay at a consistent simmer throughout the meal — which requires either a portable burner under the pot at the table or a dedicated electric hot pot. The Iwatani cassette burner is the standard domestic solution in Japan and works excellently for this purpose.
The pot itself is equally important. Traditional shabu-shabu is cooked in a round stainless steel hot pot with a chimney in the centre — a design that promotes even heat distribution and creates a visual centrepiece at the table. More casual home versions use a standard wide saucepan or donabe, which works well but loses the iconic presentation. Both options are available in this collection.
Long cooking chopsticks for handling the meat in the hot broth, individual serving bowls for sauce and broth, and ladles for distributing the stock complete the essential toolkit. The dipping sauces — goma dare and ponzu — are also available in the ingredients section.
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Add a portable burner for the full table cooking experience, and use our tongs for handling the ingredients.
Shabu-shabu at home: everything you need for a perfect hotpot evening — pot, broth, meat and sauces explained.
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