habu Shabu is a famous Japanese hot pot where everyone at the table cooks together. Diners swish marbled meat, tofu, and vegetables in a light broth and enjoy it with savory dipping sauce. It’s an intimate yet casual meal that’s fun and easy to pull off at home.

A Japanese shabu-shabu hot pot setup with a donabe pot, thinly sliced beef, tofu, assorted mushrooms, vegetables, udon noodles, and dipping sauces arranged on a wooden table.

Hot pot is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. It’s a lively, communal meal that everyone enjoys cooking together at the table. While we have many hot pot recipes in Japan, I suggest starting with Shabu Shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ). I’ll guide you through the easy prep and cooking steps so you can share this dish at home with your family and friends.

If you’re craving more hot pot recipes, try my Yosenabe, Sukiyaki, and Mille-Feuille Nabe next!

What is Shabu Shabu?

Shabu shabu is Japanese onomatopoeia for the “swish-swish” sound of cooking the meat and vegetables in the light dashi broth. It’s one of Japan’s most popular hot pot dishes where the diners cook the meal together at the table in a communal Japanese clay pot (donabe). While hot pot may have originated in Inner Mongolia and China, this classic Japanese variation was invented in the early 1950s at Suehiro restaurant in Osaka.

Why I Love This Recipe

  • No pre-cooking needed: Just cut the ingredients and let everyone cook it at the table. I love not cooking before dinnertime!
  • Light and nutritious: Everything cooks in hot broth, not oil. It’s a low-fat cooking method and a great way to add vegetables and tofu to your diet.
  • It’s quick and easy: As a busy mom, I make this simple and low-effort meal during the holidays or on a weeknight.
A Japanese shabu-shabu hot pot setup with a donabe pot, thinly sliced beef, tofu, assorted mushrooms, vegetables, udon noodles, and dipping sauces arranged on a wooden table.

Ingredients for Shabu Shabu

  • Kombu (dried kelp) and water
  • Thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye; well marbled)
  • Medium-firm tofu
  • Shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and shimeji mushrooms
  • Napa cabbage
  • Shungiku (chrysanthemum greens)
  • Tokyo negi (long green onion) – or use the white part of a leek or green onions
  • Carrot
  • Udon noodles – frozen or parboiled
  • Sesame sauce and ponzu sauce – for dipping
  • Grated daikon radish, chopped green onions/scallions, and shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) – for the  sauce condiments

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Jump to Recipe

Substitutions

  • Kombu dashi: We always use soup stock made with dried kelp for this dish. Simply drop a piece of kombu in a pot of water and let it steep. That’s it! If you can’t find kombu, you can use another dashi.
  • Thinly-sliced beef or pork: Select well-marbled meat labeled “for shabu shabu” from a Japanese or Korean grocery store. If you can’t find it, you can slice good-quality chuck or rib eye yourself using my How to Slice Meat Thinly tutorial.
  • Dipping sauces: You can find bottled ponzu (citrus soy sauce) and creamy sesame sauce on Amazon or at an Asian/Japanese supermarket. I like the fresh taste of my Homemade Ponzu Sauce and Homemade Sesame Sauce recipes, so please give them a try!
  • Shungiku and Tokyo negi: Try a Japanese or Asian grocery store for harder-to-find produce like shungiku, long green onion, and Japanese mushrooms. Or, you can swap your choice of leafy greens and vegetables.

Key Kitchen Tools or Key Equipment

A Japanese shabu-shabu hot pot setup with a donabe pot, thinly sliced beef, tofu, assorted mushrooms, vegetables, udon noodles, and dipping sauces arranged on a wooden table.

How to Make Shabu Shabu

Preparation

Step 1 – Prepare the broth and reheat the udon. Soak the kombu and water in a donabe for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, if you’re going to serve udon noodles at the end of your hot pot meal, reheat the frozen udon in boiling water. Drain and set aside on a plate.

Step 2 – Cut the vegetables. Cut the napa cabbage, shungiku, carrots, and Tokyo negi into bite-sized pieces. Grate the daikon and chop the green onion and place in small bowls.

Step 3 – Prep the mushrooms and tofu. Break the shimeji and enoki into smaller chunks and cut the shiitake stems. Cut the tofu.

Step 4 – Arrange the platters. Set the tofu, mushrooms and vegetables on one plate and the beef on another. Place them on the table along with the donabe and portable burner.

Cooking

Step 5 – Cook the dense vegetables. Bring the dashi to a boil over medium heat; remove the kombu just before boiling. Add the tofu, thick parts of the napa cabbage and shungiku, carrots, and some mushrooms. Simmer until cooked.

Step 6 – Cook the meat. Briefly swish the beef in the broth until no longer pink.

Step 7 – Serve and keep cooking. Self-serve the cooked food as it’s ready and dip in sauces to enjoy.

Step 8 – Skim and add the leafy vegetables. Cook until tender and serve. Cook the meat as you’re ready to eat, and enjoy the other ingredients while restocking the pot along the way.

Skimming scum with a fine mesh skimmer in a donabe, Japanese hot pot.

Step 9 – Make the udon finishing course. After the main course of the meal, heat the noodles and serve in the bowls of ponzu sauce diluted with shabu shabu broth.

Nami’s Recipe Tips

  • Use a pot that retains heat – We use a Japanese earthenware pot called donabe (土鍋) that distributes and retains heat well. You could also use a heavy-bottomed pot or an electric hot pot.
  • Use paperthin meat – The well-marbled beef adds flavor to the broth and the thin slices take seconds to cook. Simply swish the slices in the broth with cooking chopsticks and be careful not to overcook it.
  • Prep all the ingredients beforehand – Cooking goes quickly, so make sure everything is ready to go before you start.
  • Cook the food in order – Start cooking the dense vegetables first until tender, then briefly swish the thin-sliced beef in the hot broth and serve. Add the soft leafy vegetables afterwards and cook until tender.
  • Pick one person to cook the meat – This way, everyone gets meat at the same time. They can serve directly to the individual bowls around the table as each piece is done cooking.
  • Clean the broth as you cook – Skim off the scum and foam from the surface with a fine-mesh skimmer to keep the broth as clean as possible.
  • Cook in batches – If your cooking vessel can’t fit everything, cook a first round with a portion of the ingredients. Then, cook another round as you eat and make more room in the pot.

Variations and Customizations

  • Use other proteins. We typically cook hot pot with thinly sliced beef and pork, but occasionally, we cook seafood or chicken as in my Chicken Hot Pot called Mizutaki.
  • Add different vegetables. Try cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, other leafy Asian greens, and sweet corn (cut in sections).
  • Use rice for the finishing course. Instead of udon, add cooked Japanese rice to make a porridge with the flavorful broth. Stir in beaten eggs to add extra substance and protein.
  • Make it vegan/vegetarian. Simply omit the meat. The dashi, tofu, udon, and dipping sauces are all plant-based shabu shabu ingredients. For greater variety, I suggest adding a mixture of tofu, such as grilled tofu or tofu puffs.
A Japanese earthenware pot (donabe) containing Mizutaki (Japanese Chicken Hot Pot) filled with chicken, tofu, mushrooms, and all kinds of vegetables.

Storage Tips

To store: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.

A Japanese shabu-shabu hot pot setup with a donabe pot, thinly sliced beef, tofu, assorted mushrooms, vegetables, udon noodles, and dipping sauces arranged on a wooden table.

Shabu Shabu

4.70 from 96 votes
Shabu Shabu is a famous Japanese hot pot where everyone at the table cooks together. Diners swish marbled meat, tofu, and vegetables in a light broth and enjoy it with savory dipping sauce. It's an intimate yet casual meal that's fun and easy to pull off at home.

Video

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Kombu Soaking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients
 
 

For the Sauces and Garnish

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Instructions
 

Before You Start…

To Prepare the Stock

  • Fill 1 large donabe clay pot (or Dutch oven or any heavy-bottomed pot) two-thirds full of water. Add 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) and soak for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. The right image shows the kombu dashi after 30 minutes. Note: Use 1 piece of kombu per large donabe. If you‘re doubling this recipe, use two donabe and put 1 piece of kombu in each pot.
    Shabu Shabu 1

To Prepare the Hot Pot Ingredients

  • Prepare the udon noodles according to the package instructions. I use 1 serving udon noodles (still frozen) and reheat it in boiling water for 1 minute. Transfer them to iced water to stop the cooking, then drain well. Place on a plate and set aside. The meal ends with the udon course after you‘ve eaten the main meal.
    Shabu Shabu 2
  • Cut 8 leaves napa cabbage crosswise into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces, and then cut each piece in half or thirds lengthwise. Keep the tough/thick parts and leafy pieces in separate piles.
    Shabu Shabu 3
  • Cut ½ bunch shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces. Keep the thick parts and leafy pieces in separate piles.
    Shabu Shabu 4
  • Diagonally cut only the white part of 1 Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) into pieces ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Tip: Reserve the green part for another use, like making Homemade Chashu.
    Shabu Shabu 5
  • Rinse 1 package enoki mushrooms and 1 package shimeji mushrooms. Discard the root ends of both mushrooms and separate them into smaller chunks.
    Shabu Shabu 6
  • Cut off the stems of 4 shiitake mushrooms. Optionally, cut a decorative flower pattern on the caps (see How to Cut Shiitake Hanagiri).
    Shabu Shabu 7
  • Cut 2 inches carrot into ¼-inch rounds. Optionally, you can use a vegetable cutter to cut the carrots into a flower shape.
    Shabu Shabu 8
  • Cut 1 package medium-firm tofu (momen dofu) into square pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.
    Shabu Shabu 9
  • Arrange all the vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu on a serving platter. 
    Shabu Shabu 10

To Prepare the Garnishes and Beef

  • Peel 2 inches daikon radish and grate it (I use a ceramic grater). Squeeze it gently to remove most of the liquid and put the grated daikon in a small bowl.  
    Shabu Shabu 11
  • Cut 2 green onions/scallions into thin rounds and put it in a bowl.
    Shabu Shabu 12
  • Prepare optional shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) in a bowl. Lay the 1 lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) on a platter.
    Shabu Shabu 13

To Cook the Shabu Shabu

  • Set up a portable gas stove at the table and put the donabe on the burner. Place the platters with the ingredients on the table. Give each person their own bowls of ponzu and sesame dipping sauce. I also prepare a shallow bowl for each diner to cool their food. 
    Shabu Shabu 14
  • Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. Take out the kombu right before water starts to boil (otherwise, the water will get slimy).
    Shabu Shabu 15
  • Add the tofu, tough parts of napa cabbage and shungiku, negi, carrots, and some mushrooms. Reserve the softer, leafy vegetables to cook later. You don’t have to put all the ingredients in at once; cook in batches, if you prefer. Cover to cook for 10 minutes.
    Shabu Shabu 16

To Eat the Shabu Shabu

  • While you’re waiting for the food to cook, prepare your dipping sauces. Add the grated daikon, shichimi togarashi, and green onion to the ponzu. Add the green onion to the sesame sauce. 
    Shabu Shabu 17
  • When you‘re ready to eat the meat, pick up a piece of thinly sliced beef with a set of communal cooking chopsticks. Stir or “swish“ the meat in the boiling broth and cook for 20–30 seconds or until the meat is no longer pink; be careful not to overcook it.
    Shabu Shabu 18
  • Serve the beef, vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu once cooked and enjoy the food dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce.
    Shabu Shabu 19
  • Skim off the scum and foam from the surface, especially after cooking the meat, to keep the broth as clean as possible. Then, add the softer, leafy vegetables to the broth as you make room in the pot. Simmer for a few minutes and serve.
    Cook the meat as you're ready to eat, and enjoy the other ingredients while restocking the pot along the way.
    Tip: Prepare a fine-mesh skimmer and a 2-cup measuring cup filled with water so you can easily skim as you cook at the table. The water will help clean the skimmer.
    Occasionally skim the scum and foam in the shabu shabu hot pot.

To Make the Udon Course

  • When you're done cooking the ingredients, skim the broth one last time to prepare for the udon noodles. Typically, a hot pot meal ends with cooking udon noodles or porridge.
    Shabu Shabu 20
  • Add the udon noodles to the pot and reheat for 1–2 minutes. Lightly season the broth with salt and white pepper, if you‘d like (optional).
    Shabu Shabu 21
  • Dilute the individual bowls of ponzu sauce with the broth and serve the udon noodles in each bowl.
    Shabu Shabu 22

To Store

  • You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.

Nutrition

Calories: 477 kcal · Carbohydrates: 35 g · Protein: 38 g · Fat: 21 g · Saturated Fat: 8 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 69 mg · Sodium: 178 mg · Potassium: 1036 mg · Fiber: 8 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 3133 IU · Vitamin C: 31 mg · Calcium: 238 mg · Iron: 5 mg
Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: hot pot, shabu shabu
©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on December 2, 2011. It was updated with a new video and new images in December 2018. It was republished with more helpful content on April 11, 2025.

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4.70 from 96 votes (87 ratings without comment)
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beautifully done. I will give it a try thus weekend.

Hi Nami, and happy belated holidays…hope you were able to enjoy with family. I’m a long time reader of your blog, as well as your book. You have a wonderful way of explaining how to make amazing dishes. I’ve recently become fascinated with hot pot recipes, and just purchased a donabe, burner, gas, vegetable cutter, etc. For my first try, would you recommend cooking Shabu Shabu or Sukiyaki? Thank you in advance.

Love the name of this dish — so much fun to say. You did a great job with the recipe — thanks.

Extremely thorough and easy to follow directions. The photos make the process so clear and I like the upbeat music, too.4 stars

Can u name what kind of meat I need to use for shabu shabu??? If it is a beef what type of beef or part of the beef meat?

Hi Nami

I noticed you did not add seasoning to the shabu shabu stock. Do the Japanese drink the soup? Unlike other Asian countries, the hotpot/steamboat stock is usually made by boiling chicken bones or pork ribs.

Also, I would like to know the purpose of using kombu in the stock? Thanks

I dont care much for mushrooms, any other veggie suggestions? Do you think using peppers/squash would be a bad idea?

Hello! I was interested in making this recipe, but have no clay pot to make it in. Could you recommend me a Japanese one I could order online? Also, after moving it to the table will it continue to stay hot enough?

Thank you!

I was wondering if I would be able to cook the Shabu Shabu on a gas stove or like would I need something else?

I just found a wonderful website. Please continue with all your wonderful recipes, stories and explanations. I have learned so much. Will Definitely revisit.

I love this meal so much! After my family eats the udon, we add raw eggs and rice and cook it in the remaining broth. This is my favorite part, mainly because I like eggs. ^^ I must eat shabu shabu now… Thanks for sharing this recipe!

txs Nami for shabu2 recipe

So as you suggested, we had shabu shabu last night. It was awesome, you would think sukiyaki is tastier, but the broth becomes tasty and i had shabu shabu at the restaurant and already liked the two different sauces. I tried your ponzu, but i like the recipe i use better (i infuse a piece of kombu and a little bit of katsuobushi in 120mL of shoyu overnight, then filter it and add 4tbsp mirin, 4tbsp of lemon juice and 4tbsp of mandarine juice. You can use whatever, 4tbsp sour citrus juice, 4tbsp sweet citrus, i like to mix them and do with what i have : yuzu juice, blood orange, limes…). On the other hand, just reading the ingredients of your sesame sauce and i knew this would be the best one i ever had, and i was right. I like the heat of the raw sake and mirin, and even though the alcohol level is low, im not supposed to take alcohol so i stress. Is there any extra step i could take, like evaporate the alcool of sake and mirin before mixing them to the other ingredients or something…? Thank you so much again, ill be making hot pots all winter if you have other ideas !

Hello. Good evening India time. Every item presented in the most elegant manner. I respect your Quality Care for the foods. Loved it. I would replace Beef slice or Pork with properly baked Potato Slice; if to make it Vegetarian..!!! Would it work? Me sure it should. Potato slice baked and pasted with little salt and black pepper..

Love the recipe! Getting a hot pot on sale for the upcoming cold weather for healthier cooking. Thanks for sharing!