Rei-shabu

Name: Rei-shabu
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 400 g thinly sliced pork loin or shoulder (shabu-shabu cut); 1.5 l water; 2 tbsp sake; 0.5 lettuce; 1 cucumber; 2 tomatoes; 1 spring onion; 6 tbsp ponzu; 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds

Chilled pork salad

Rei-shabu (冷しゃぶ): thin pork slices poached and chilled, served over salad with ponzu

Features:Quick Dairy free Low calorie

Cuisine:

Japanese

In the heat of a Tokyo August, nobody wants a hot frying pan, and rei-shabu, "cold shabu-shabu", is what appears on dinner tables and in set lunches: paper-thin slices of pork loin or shoulder poached briefly in barely simmering water, cooled, and piled on a crisp salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomato with ponzu or a sesame sauce. It is light and refreshing. This is a pork dish. A portion is about 280 kcal. The most common mistake is plunging the cooked pork into iced water, which makes the fat set hard and the meat tough; let it cool on a sieve instead. Chef's tip: keep the water just below the boil, around 80 °C, with a splash of sake; the pork stays tender instead of going grey and stringy.

Total time: 25 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

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Ingredients

Serves4

14 oz thinly sliced pork loin or shoulder (shabu-shabu cut)
6 ¼ cups water
2 tbsp sakecontains alcohol, which evaporates; or leave it out
½ lettucehead, torn
1 cucumbercut into thin strips
2 tomatoescut into wedges
1 spring onionfinely sliced
6 tbsp ponzu
1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (optional)

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What you'll need

Fine sieve

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (5)

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Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Arrange ½ lettuce, 1 cucumber and 2 tomatoes on a large plate and chill.
Step 2: Bring 6 ¼ cups water to the boil in a pan, add 2 tbsp sake, then lower the heat until the water is just shivering with small bubbles at the bottom, about 176°F.
8 min
Step 3: Add 14 oz thinly sliced pork loin or shoulder (shabu-shabu cut) a few slices at a time, spreading them out. Poach for 30–60 seconds, until no pink remains anywhere; thin slices reach 160°F almost at once. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
6 min
Step 4: Lay the slices on a sieve or plate to cool at room temperature for 5 minutes, then chill until ready to serve. Don't put them in iced water.
5 min
Step 5: Pile the pork on the salad, scatter over 1 spring onion and 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds and spoon over 6 tbsp ponzu just before eating.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 280 kcal
Protein: 24 g
Carbs: 8 g
Fat: 16 g
Fibre: 2 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does rei-shabu take?: About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
What can I use instead of lettuce?: Any crisp salad leaves, same amount.
What can I use instead of cucumber?: Courgette, same weight (in salads, use young ones).

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