I know that I have to stop talking about food but my taste buds are watering! 

I’m penciling in my calendar already for next spring and hoping to head back to Japan (again)!  One of my favourite dishes there is Shabu Shabu (named so in Japanese because it represents the sound of the chopsticks stirring the food in the pot). Perhaps I love it so much because it’s similar to the different types of fondue we have here in Switzerland (cheese, beef, chocolate - all delicious). 

Shabu-shabu is a  selection of thin meat (beef, pork, chicken, seafood or even tofu) and fresh vegetables (any) dipped in a large pot of boiling seaweed broth to be cooked, each guest cooking their own at the table.  The ingredients are served raw and you dip them in the communal pot called a ‘nabe’ until they are cooked. 

Shabu-shabu is enjoyed like any type of fondue, slowly cooking the ingredients during the course of the meal. They are then dipped into various sauces (my favourite is sesame) and enjoyed with rice. I can’t wait!! 

Here are some etiquette tips for enjoying Shabu-shabu without causing offence- 

• Start by saying ‘Itadakimasu’ before you eat anything, it’s a way of giving thanks for the food. 

• You use the large sieve like spoon for skimming impurities from the top of the broth not for serving yourself.

• Separate chopsticks are used for placing the meat and vegetables in the pot (these are longer than normal chopsticks called ‘toribashi’).

• You can lift your rice bowl from the table to your chin to eat the rice with chopsticks. 

• Sauce is never mixed with rice. Rice is to be enjoyed alone and adding sauces makes it more difficult to eat as it loses it’s stickiness. 

• Don’t drink the broth/stock after the cooking as you would a bowl of soup.

 But most importantly, enjoy… and if you can’t make it to Japan you can make to a Japanese restaurant to enjoy there instead.. try it!

Julia Esteve Boyd

 The Etiquette Consultant