Course: Very special dinner

Portion feeds: 2 to 3 people

Inspired by: A delicious meal I had in Takayama, Japan.

Tools needed for this fantastic meal:

1) I tried just about every contraption and I have finally found and spent the money for a shabu-shabu pan. So save yourself the time and just purchase the shabu-shabu pan.

2) A safe and reliable heat source.

3) A sharp knife.

4) Keep in mind, you will have boiling liquid, an electrical cord, hands and a lot of food on this table. Prepare the set up carefully. Take in consideration the diner flow, elderly people, children and pets.

Ingredients/Recipe:

Filet: 1.5 lbs. of filet mignon sliced very thin.

Chicken stock: use your best homemade chicken stock recipe and DO NOT ADD SALT.

SIDE DISHES:

Sesame seed sauce

1 tbsp. Sesame seeds (toasted and smashed).

¼ cup of Rice vinegar

¼ cup of Soy sauce

1 tbsp. stone ground mustard

Scallions (add before serving)

Toast the sesame seeds. Use a mortar & pestle to crush the sesame seeds. Add all other ingredients and stir well.

For the sauces you need two bowls:

a) Large sauce bowl.

b) Individual small sauce bowl

As you dip the cooked meat into the sauce, the sauce becomes watery. By having small individual portions you can control and may toss the watery sauce and add more fresh thick sauce to your individual bowl. I used a sushi soy sauce saucer as an individual sauce bowl.

Soy sauce saucers containing sesame seeds and apple/ginger sauce.

Mushrooms:

Slice button mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms

Udon Noodles: Cut the packed noodle into smaller pieces.

Daikon (no substitutes) and seasoned rice vinegar.

Use a peeler to slice the daikon into very fine slices. Cut the daikon into small pieces. Place the daikon into a bowl and add the seasoned rice vinegar.

Asian greens of your choice. I used sweet mustard and Asian broccoli.

Apple/Ginger Sauce: Inspired by Genghis Kan sauce

1 red delicious apple – ground

½ cup dry sherry or sake

½ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp. palm sugar

1 clove of garlic (large)

1 tbsp. lemon juice

½ tbsp. of ground fresh ginger

Rind of one lemon

Cilantro – add before serving

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, over low heat, cooked the ground apple until it caramelizes and becomes dark brown. Then add all the apple/ginger sauce ingredients. Bring the sauce to a boil and remove the sauce from the heat. If using sake boil for a couple more minutes to give the alcohol a chance to evaporate, otherwise you will end up drunk before the end of the meal. Let it cool before serving

How to prepare your Shabu-Shabu Table:

1) Place your heat source in the middle of the table. This spot must be easy to reach for all the people seating at the table.

2) Place your shabu-shabu pan on top of the heat source and fill it up with your great chicken stock.

Chicken stock boiling in a shabu-shabu pan

3) Spread all the dishes so that everyone will have a way to easily reach each plate or bowl.

Filet mignon, mushrooms and Udon noodles.

4) Set up the individual sauces.

How to eat shabu-shabu:

Using a chopstick, reach for the food of your choice and eat. If the food of your choice needs to be cooked, dunk the chopstick containing the raw food into the shabu-shabu pan.

1) The filet mignon will cook very quickly. It’s meant to be barely cooked. It’s your shabu-shabu so cook as much as you like.

Dunking filet mignon into chicken stock using chopsticks

2) The Udon noodles are best if you use a slated spoon to scoop it out of the shabu-shabu pan.

3) Cut the greens in large pieces so it’s easier to maneuver with the chopsticks.

4) Then dunk any of the food into your individual sauce saucer.

Serve with Cold Japanese beer.

Enjoy!

FOOD DISCLAIMER:

This recipe does not take into consideration for any possible food allergy, digestive problems or any other physical problem one may have regarding consumption of food. Therefore, you are responsible for what you eat.