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Shabu Shabu
Recipe from Tasting Table Test Kitchen
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus communal cooking time
Cook Time: 20 minutes, plus communal cooking time
Total Time: 40 minutes, plus communal cooking time
Ingredients
Dashi
12 cups water
4 ounces kombu
1 cup bonito flakes
Shabu Shabu
1 pound ribeye, sliced ⅛-inch-thick
1 pound pork loin, sliced ⅛-inch-thick
2 cups mizuna, roughly chopped
3 heads bok choy, washed, bottoms trimmed and leaves separated
½ cup enoki mushrooms, trimmed
1½ cups shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
3 baby Vidalia onions, cut in half lengthwise
2 medium purple turnips, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu, chopped into 1-inch cubes
Three (8 ounce) packages frozen or fresh udon noodles, boiled until tender, then drained and rinsed in ice water
Directions
1. Make the dashi: In medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the water and kombu. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, then stir in the bonito flakes. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the dashi through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids.
2. Prepare the shabu shabu: Arrange the meats on a large platter, the vegetables and tofu on a second large platter and the cooked udon noodles in a bowl.
3. Set a portable stove in the middle of the dining table and place a nabe (Japanese ceramic bowl; Dutch oven can be substituted) over the burner. Pour the strained dashi into the nabe, cover and bring to a simmer. As the dashi warms, bring the meat, vegetables and noodles to the table along with 6 soup bowls. When the dashi reaches a bare simmer (don't let it boil), let your diners add some dashi to their soup bowls and then begin cooking: working in batches, add the vegetables and cook until tender, a few minutes. Add slices of meat and cook for a few seconds, until just cooked. Dip the cooked vegetables and meat in the Blood Orange Ponzu Sauce, Miso-Tahini Sauce and Chile Oil. Repeat with remaining vegetables and meat.
4. When all of the vegetables and meat have been cooked, add the udon noodles to the dashi and stir until warmed through. Divide the noodles and remaining dashi between the 6 soup bowls.