Shabu Shabu Water Management Temperature

Ingredients

• 20 g kombu, wiped clean with damp cloth, not rinsed
• 2 litres cold water
• 600 g wagyu beef, shoulder clod or rib-roll, sliced maximum 2 mm
• 1 block silken tofu, frozen then fully thawed to achieve sponge texture
• 1 bunch shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), stems trimmed
• For the ponzu
• 100 ml soy sauce
• 100 ml citrus juice, yuzu or sudachi preferred
• 1 piece daikon, finely grated
• 1 tsp togarashi, mixed into grated daikon to make momiji-oroshi
• For the goma dare
• 80 g white sesame paste
• 60 ml dashi, kombu dashi, drawn from the pot
• 30 ml soy sauce
• 15 ml mirin
• 10 ml rice vinegar
• 50 g silken tofu, blended in for creaminess
• For the shime
• 200 g udon noodles or cooked rice, for zosui (rice porridge) or udon at meal's end

Method

1. 1
   Place the kombu in 2 litres of cold water in the shabu-shabu pot or a wide, shallow donabe. Bring slowly to a temperature just below boiling. Remove the kombu before the water reaches a full simmer. The broth is ready when it is clear, faintly oceanic in aroma, and holds a gentle surface tremor — not a rolling boil.
2. 2
   Combine the goma dare: whisk white sesame paste with blended silken tofu until smooth, then incorporate dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar in that order. The finished sauce should coat a spoon thickly and carry balanced salt, acid, and sesame depth. Taste and adjust. Mix grated daikon with togarashi to make momiji-oroshi; stir this into the ponzu. Set both sauces at the table.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Maintain the broth at a gentle, barely-breaking simmer throughout service — never a rolling boil. Each diner takes one or two slices of wagyu (maximum 2 mm), holds an end with chopsticks, and swishes the meat through the broth for 3 to 5 seconds only. The slice is done when the red has just turned pale pink; it must not be allowed to go fully grey. A slice cooked beyond 5 seconds is overcooked and the delicacy of the wagyu is lost.
4. 4
   Add shungiku to the simmering broth in small batches during the meal. Swish each portion for 5 seconds. The greens are ready when wilted but still bright. Add frozen-and-thawed silken tofu in cubes; it is ready when heated through and the sponge-like texture has absorbed broth visibly. Introduce vegetables gradually — not all at once — so the broth enriches with beef flavor before any dilution occurs.
5. 5
   At the meal's end (shime), the broth will be deeply colored and freighted with beef and vegetable umami. Add udon noodles and simmer until tender, or stir in cooked rice and simmer gently to a loose zosui porridge. The broth is ready for shime when it tastes complex and savory — a transformation from the clean kombu water with which the meal began.