Chefs' Recipes

Tetsuya Wakuda's shabu shabu

Gather around the table and dip in.

By Tetsuya Wakuda
  • 25 mins preparation
  • 10 mins cooking (plus freezing)
  • Serves 4 - 6
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"This is all about sharing and eating together," says Wakuda. "It's a real family thing in Japan to sit down to."

Ingredients

  • 400 gm wagyu sirloin (see note), very thinly sliced
  • 150 gm watercress
  • 100 gm shimeji mushrooms
  • 12 shiitake mushrooms
  • 300 gm silken tofu, to serve
  • Spring onions, thinly sliced diagonally, to serve
  • Shiso cress (optional; see note), to serve
Sesame dipping sauce
  • 100 gm sesame paste, such as tahini
  • 60 gm white (shiro) miso
  • 50 ml rice wine vinegar
  • 120 ml dashi
  • 2 tsp finely grated ginger
  • Chilli oil (optional), to serve
Citrus-soy dipping sauce
  • 100 ml lemon juice
  • 100 ml soy sauce
  • 100 ml dashi (see note)
  • 1 tsp each finely grated daikon and ginger
Stock
  • 1.5 litres (6 cups) dashi
  • 80 ml sake
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp mirin

Method

  • 1
    For sesame dipping sauce, combine ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
  • 2
    For citrus-soy dipping sauce, combine ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
  • 3
    For stock, combine ingredients in a hot pot or large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Season to taste and place in the centre of the table on a portable gas burner.
  • 4
    To serve, arrange a small bowl of each dipping sauce and a dish of spring onion and cress for each guest. Dip slices of wagyu into stock until cooked to your liking (10 seconds for medium-rare), then dip into your preferred sauce. Meanwhile, add watercress, mushrooms and tofu to stock to warm, then repeat.

Notes

To slice wagyu thinly, freeze it until very firm, then shave with a wide mandoline. Alternatively ask your butcher to thinly slice it for you. Shiso cress is available from select greengrocers. Powdered dashi is available from Asian grocery shops, or you can make your own dashi. Wine suggestion 2013 Crawford River Cabernet Sauvignon from Henty, Vic. Wine suggestion by Fabio Danzi.