Shime — Closing Rice in Japanese Hotpot Culture
Japan-wide — integral to all nabe hotpot traditions
Shime (締め, literally 'closing' or 'tying off') is the final act of Japanese hotpot dining: using the flavour-enriched remaining broth to cook a final carbohydrate — rice (for zosui/ojiya, a savoury rice porridge), noodles (udon, ramen noodles, or thin wheat noodles), or rice directly poured into the pot (ojiya style). Shime is not an afterthought but the culmination of the meal: the broth has been continuously enriched by every protein, vegetable, and seasoning added throughout the meal, and the shime course represents the distilled essence of everything that was cooked. Different nabe have designated shime: tonkotsu shabu-shabu → zosui; mizutaki → zosui or rice porridge; sukiyaki → udon noodles; kimchi nabe → instant noodles or rice. The ritual of shime is as culturally important as the nabe itself.