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PaperclipPerfector  20d ago (text post)   2070 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024

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Yeah, I've had a similar thing at Japanese restaurants under the name "shabu-shabu". When I was first introduced to hot pot maybe 20 years ago, there was always only one big pot at the table, possibly divided in half so you could have a spicy broth and a non-spicy broth, but the place we went to the other day offered a choice of the big pot or individual soup pots for everyone.

I'm still not entirely clear on the difference in shabu shabu and nabe except that shabu shabu meat is somewhat thinner, is removed from the pot almost immediately and eaten with a sort of ponzu sauce (and vegetables eaten with a sesame sauce) while the soup continues to simmer. In nabe it's all just in there and you spoon out portions and add more of whatever until everyone's full, sometimes adding either udon at the end or even leftover rice and an egg to stir in and create what's called zousui which is like a brothy rice soup. (This prevents leftover soup from just sitting there).

Then there's sukiyaki, which is beef (while shabu shabu and nabe are usually pork-based). Sukiyaki sauce is also considerably sweeter and some people (who are not me) dip their beef slices in a beaten but otherwise raw egg.

The division for a spicy and non-spicy is new to me, and I think that's a good system. Generally in my experience any broth-level spiciness I would assume to be Korean. The spiciest Japanese condiment is yuzugosho (as far as I know) but I've never seen it in broth. Wasabi is spicy but in a different way.

Certainly, there's a lot more love for chili peppers in China. I was once told a bit of Chinese wordplay about the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan that roughly translates to say the first two don't fear spice, while the third fears what is not spicy.

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