Seared Beef with Flavorful Dipping Sauces (Shabushabu)

Prepare dipping sauces: For sesame sauce, first toast deeds in a dry frying pan without oil over medium-to-high heat, shaking pan constantly from the beginning to prevent burning. When popping begins, transfer to a grinder or earthenware mortar, and grind until smooth with pestle, while the seeds are still hot. Add all other ingredients fort the sauce to the ground seeds, and mix well. For ponzu sauce, mix all of its ingredients together. Prepare condiments. Cut tofu into 2,5 cm cubes and drain. Parboil shirataki in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cut into 10 cm long pieces and drain in colander. If using harusame, parboil in boiling water for 3 minutes, or soak in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and cut into 10 cm long pieces. Cut leeks diagonally into 1 cm thick slices. Remove stems from Chinese mushrooms. Cut Chinese cabbage leaves into 5 cm square pieces. Wipe konbu with damp dish towel to remove any sand, and cut into 4 pieces crosswise with scissors. Arrange all ingedients attractively on large platter taking into consideration colors and shapes, and place on dining table with serving fork or chopsticks. Put konbu into 5 to 6 cups water and bring to boil on dining table, or heat it first on the kitchen stove (this is quicker), and then transfer it to the heating apparatus on the dining table. When it simmers, take konbu out.

Each person prepares both kinds of dipping sauce in his own dipping bowls by mixing sesame or ponzu sauce with condiments (sesame with onion and ponzu with onion and/or radish). To the boiling water, add first the ingredients which take the longest time to cook, followed by the others. Add ingredients in equal amounts little by little. Do not add all ingredients at once. To cook the beef, take a slice of it with chopsticks or fondue fork, and wave it back and forth in the piping hot broth for a few seconds. When it is half-done, dip it into the dipping sauce and eat as it is. While it is boiling, the soup should be skimmed occasionally with a ladle. Additional ingredients should be put into the pot. If the level of soup falls too low, add some boiling broth or boiling water.

Preparation time: 30 mins
Per portion: 2519 kJ / 602 kcal