Pork Shabu Shabu Recipe

Pork Shabu Shabu is a Japanese hot pot dish with thinly sliced pork and vegetables. Meat and vegetables are cooked in a simple Kombu broth and dipped and eaten with Ponzu Sauce. Pork Shabu Shabu is an easy but wonderful dinner when coming back home from the chilly outside.

Shabu Shabu usually indicates a Japanese hot pot dish (all hot pot dishes are called “Nabemono” or ”Nabe”) with paper-thin sliced beef. But here it is with thinly sliced pork in place of beef. Instead of packing the pot with all the ingredients like Mizutaki, leave some room in the pot so that you can easily dip your thin meat in hot broth and swirl them around to cook. It should be cooked at the dinner table using a portable gas stove and eaten as we cook, the same as other Nabemono.

Pork Shabu Shabu is also called Joya Nabe. Joya Nabe is literally translated to ”every night hot pot,” and it is called so because the dish is so good that it could be eaten every night. Pork is also considerably cheaper than Shabu Shabu grade beef and easier on the budget for daily food. While vegetables used in Joya Nabe are often winter greens like spinach and Komatsuna Japanese mustard spinach, we used Mizuna Japanese mustard green which has a refreshing mild taste and nice crispy texture. Mizuna is not to be cooked too long or it loses the crispiness we want. Of course you may use the Nabe staple vegetable, Nappa cabbage, if you prefer, or any of your favorite leafy vegetables. Other than Mizuna, we keep the dish very simple. We thought Tofu and Shimeji mushroom are good and enough accompaniment ingredients for our Pork Shabu Shabu.

There are Shabu Shabu restaurants out there to get Pork Shabu Shabu, but you can easily prepare this at home. It takes no time to prep, and you cook as you eat, so this is a perfect meal for busy people. Definitely budget friendly too! Try this healthy but delicious hot pot this winter.