Japanese Shabu-Shabu Broth and Table Protocol

Ingredients

• For the kombu dashi broth
• 20 g kombu (dried kelp), wiped clean with a damp cloth; do not wash
• 2 litres cold water
• For the beef and table ingredients
• 600 g A5 wagyu beef, sliced 1.5–2 mm thin; arranged on a platter
• 200 g shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), leafy tips only; stems discarded
• 300 g napa cabbage, cut into large pieces
• 300 g silken tofu, cut into 4 cm cubes
• For the ponzu dipping sauce
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 60 ml citrus juice (yuzu or sudachi), freshly squeezed
• 30 ml mirin
• For the oroshi ponzu condiment
• 150 g daikon radish, finely grated; excess liquid not pressed out
• For the goma-dare sesame sauce
• 90 g nerigoma (white sesame paste)
• 30 ml dashi, kombu dashi, reserved from the broth
• 30 ml ponzu, from the prepared ponzu above
• 15 ml sake
• For the zosui closing
• 400 g pre-cooked short-grain rice, rinsed of excess starch
• 2 eggs, beaten

Method

1. 1
   Combine the kombu and cold water in the shabu-shabu pot. Steep at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. Place the pot over medium heat and raise the temperature slowly. At 60°C — the water will show faint movement and wisps of steam but no bubbles — remove the kombu immediately. The broth is ready when it holds a steady, gentle simmer and carries the clean marine scent of kombu without any bitterness.
2. 2
   While the broth heats, combine the soy sauce, citrus juice, and mirin to make the ponzu. Keep cold. Whisk together the nerigoma, reserved kombu dashi, ponzu, and sake to make the goma-dare; it should be smooth, pourable, and slightly warm at service. Grate the daikon finely and combine with cold ponzu to make oroshi ponzu. Set all three condiments at the table in separate vessels.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Once the broth holds a gentle simmer — never a rolling boil — lift a single slice of A5 wagyu with chopsticks and swish it through the broth for 10 to 15 seconds only. The slice should be pink at the centre and barely opaque at the edges when removed. Eat immediately with ponzu or oroshi ponzu. Do not hold the cooked beef in the broth; overcooking is irreversible. Each guest cooks and eats piece by piece throughout the meal.
4. 4
   After the first round of wagyu, introduce the vegetables in sequence. Add shungiku tips and napa cabbage; the greens are ready in 90 seconds (tender, vivid, not collapsed), the cabbage in 3 minutes (translucent, yielding at the thickest part). Add tofu last and cook for 5 minutes until heated fully through — it will be uniformly warm to the touch but hold its shape without crumbling. Skim the broth surface with a fine-mesh skimmer every 10 minutes to maintain clarity.
5. 5
   At the meal's close, add the pre-cooked rinsed rice to the enriched remaining broth. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat. Pour the beaten eggs in a slow circle over the surface and do not stir; the residual heat sets the egg in soft, loose ribbons. The zosui is ready when the egg is just set — silken, not rubbery — and the rice has absorbed the broth to a loose porridge consistency.