The Shabu Trend

Non-LIT specific topics about Japan and Asia - culture, customs, food, people, art, film etc.
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Suntory
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The Shabu Trend

#1 Post by Suntory » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:26 pm

Just ran across this interesting article:

http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/1351

Shabu trend continues to bubble
By Denise Taylor, April 20, 2006

Shabu Village
Location: 417 Harvard St.,, Brookline; 617-566-0888
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi/Korean

What is the sound of two chopsticks swishing? In Japan, they say it’s ‘‘shabu-shabu,’’ the name they give their bubbling ‘‘hot pot’’ fondue in which you swish delicate meats to make your own luscious, at-the-table stew.

It’s a dish with staying power. The story goes that hot pots began some 800 years ago when Genghis Khan’s soldiers topped off grueling days of conquering and pillaging by gathering around the camp stew pot. Each would cook his ration of meat in its water, being careful to keep control of every precious bite. To make sure the grimy guy to his left didn’t snag his bit of mutton, each soldier held onto it for dear life, swishing the meat in the pot without letting go. Yes, life was just harder before the invention of color-coded fondue forks.

Hot pots aren’t exactly breaking news, but the spread of shabu-shabu joints is. Hugely popular in Asia — especially in Japan and Taiwan — shabu first gained an American foothold on the West Coast. Boston got its first shabu shop in 2002, with the opening of Chinatown’s almost always crowded Shabu-Zen. Last year, the shabu restaurant Kaze set up nearby. And with the opening of sleek, Zen-like Shabu Village in February, we now have shabu in Coolidge Corner, too.

There’s good reason for the growing trend. Leisurely swirling thin-sliced meats in a bubbling pot can so quickly lull the busy mind that you could market shabu-shabu as a spa treatment. And what could be better than a treatment that you can eat too?

It’s easy to do. If you like, you can start with an appetizer. Just about anything fried is good here. Our tempura ($5) arrived with wedges of soft sweet potato, circles of eggplant, onion curls, and tender shrimp in a crisp, puffy, greaseless batter. Fried whole oysters covered in panko bread crumbs (the flavorful, coarse crumb favored in Japan) were deliciously briny, though a bit expensive at $5.50 for three. Tempura variations, including tender calamari ($6) and meaty soft-shell crab ($7.50), were also quite good.

Other appetizers included sake-shioyaki ($8), a generous cut of broiled salmon that had too strong a taste. Gyoza ($5) dumplings made up for the salmon fumble with a juicy, ginger-packed pork filling. With the guidance of our friendly server, we moved on to shabu.

Co-owners Michael Ching and January Checkovich suggest beginners start with one of their ‘‘main course’’ meals, which come with a choice of meats and either noodles or rice, as well as a heaping plate of fondue veggies and a dessert of fresh fruit. Beef is the traditional choice ($11-$19, depending on the cut). Like pork ($11) and lamb ($12) it adds the most flavor to the broth, which matters. Rather than the range of seasoned broths used in Taiwan and at the other two shabu spots in town, Shabu Village serves a subtle broth closer to the kelp broth served in Japan.

‘‘It’s just made with chicken. Nothing else. No MSG. No seasoning,’’ said Checkovich, explaining that you flavor the broth yourself as you cook. It’s your blank canvas. And flavor it you will. Whether you stick to meats, choose seafood ($12-$17; the broth-cooked fish is particularly succulent), or opt for the vegetarian shabu ($12) with miso broth and all kinds of tofu, each item leaves its savory mark on the brew. Meanwhile, you dip each bite into a scrumptious tentsuyu sauce of sweet mirin rice wine and salty shoyu that you tweak with Asian BBQ sauce, garlic, onion, and chilies. Everything from the mild Napa cabbage to briefly swished beef tasted superb in it.

A la carte finds included littleneck clams ($3), which we plucked from the broth the moment they opened, and white, light-as-a-cloud enoki mushrooms ($2.50). But the taro root ($3.50) was the real star. Soaked through with broth, this sweet, starchy tuber became a velvety delicacy.

Once all the swishing is done, you ladle the now complex broth over your noodles or rice and eat it like soup. It’s a nice way to savor your creation. All in all though, it’s a meal for the patient. So only time will tell if, as some predict, shabu is ready to woo the nation.

One thing is for sure — should another Mongolian military meal catch on, you won’t find a review of it here. For road food, Kahn’s soldiers tapped their horses, sipping their blood so they could keep going. We think the better of the two meals prevailed.

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jml2
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#2 Post by jml2 » Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:15 am

I've never had shabu, but I wish I could right now!

the horse thing though, eck :?

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ForRelaxingTimes
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#3 Post by ForRelaxingTimes » Thu May 04, 2006 4:57 am

"What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food.." hehe no I would love to try that.
"For Relaxing Times...Make it Suntory Times."

"I'm organizing a prison break..."

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