Japanese fondue

We usually think of seafood first with the Japanese diet, but meat has also become part of their diet. Meat was originally considered unclean by Buddhists and banned until the late 19th century. Now the Japanese prepare meat in delicious dishes such as sukiyaki and shabu-shabu, both fondue-style. Sukiyaki is a thinly sliced beef dish cooked at the table in a broth of soy sauce, stock, and sake along with vegetables like scallions, mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots. The custom is to serve yourself from the pot and then dip the bite into your own bowl of raw egg. The eggs here have the most amazing orange-red color. We love to buy the hard-boiled ones from the market and have them daily as snacks. Another table-side service is shabu-shabu, which is also thinly sliced beef cooked in a broth with vegetables. The difference between the two is that sukiyaki has a soysauce and sake-flavored stock while shabu-shabu has a clear, lightly flavored stock.  They're actually pretty expensive to order at a restaurant with dishes at about $25-$55 per person. Both are delicious and it's really fun to use your chopsticks and cook your own meat and vegetables. So next time when you're having fondue, consider chopsticks instead of fondue forks. :)

Sukiyaki

 



Shabu-shabu

 

 (these photos are courtesy of other web pages; we couldn't take photos in the restaurants)