Sukiyaki and Shabu-shabu

Sukiyaki is cooked in a shallow cast-iron pan at the table. Two regional methods exist. In the Kantō style, the ingredients are simmered in warishita, a ready-mixed sauce of soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake or dashi. In the Kansai style, beef fat is melted in the pan, the beef is seared, and sugar and soy sauce are added directly, before the vegetables go in.

Typical ingredients besides beef are grilled tofu (yaki-dōfu), long green onion, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), shiitake, shirataki noodles and sometimes wheat gluten (fu). Each bite is dipped in beaten raw egg, which cools and softens the rich, sweet flavour. Udon noodles are often added to the remaining sauce at the end.

Shabu-shabu is cooked in a pot of lightly flavoured broth, often simply water with kombu. Each diner lifts a slice of meat with chopsticks and swishes it through the simmering broth for a few seconds until it changes colour, then dips it in sauce. Vegetables, tofu and mushrooms are cooked in the same broth, which gradually becomes richer; at the end it may be seasoned and eaten with rice or noodles.

The dish uses very thin slices, usually of marbled beef, but pork shabu-shabu is at least as common at home. Variants use duck, yellowtail (buri shabu) or octopus.

Both dishes are a traditional way to enjoy high-grade beef. Butchers and supermarkets sell beef sliced specifically for each: slightly thicker for sukiyaki, paper-thin for shabu-shabu. Well-marbled cuts from wagyu breeds, such as the shoulder loin and sirloin, are particularly prized because the fat melts at low temperatures.

Well-known beef regions including Matsusaka in Mie, Kobe in Hyogo and Ōmi in Shiga are closely associated with sukiyaki, and many long-established sukiyaki houses date from the Meiji period.

In restaurants, a server often cooks the first portion of sukiyaki and demonstrates the method; diners then continue themselves. At home, one person tends the pot, adding ingredients and adjusting heat. Separate serving chopsticks are sometimes used for raw meat.

For shabu-shabu, meat is best cooked a slice at a time and eaten immediately rather than left in the pot. Skimming the foam (aku) from the broth keeps it clear.