One-Pot Shabu Shabu Recipe 

This One-Pot Shabu Shabu recipe is an easy way to make a single-serve, 10-minute hotpot. It’s just as delicious and comforting as the OG!! 

Shabu Shabu or Hotpot is a common way to eat in East Asian countries. This consists of meat, vegetables, and other variety of food items, boiled in a broth. The cooking pot is placed in the middle of the table, and you eat fresh out of the pot. 

It originated in China and became popular, creating different varieties across Asia. It has gained even more popularity today because it’s a fun and delicious way for family and friends to come together, and it’s actually super easy to make at home. 

Traditional Shabu Shabu

One of the best things about making shabu shabu is that it’s very easy to come together. 

To prepare, you need several equipment to create a communal cooking pot in the middle of the dining table:  

• Portable gas or electric stove 
• Deep pot 
• Serving ladles, chopsticks, or tongs 

The cooking pot usually contains a flavorful broth to cook the ingredients in. It’s super healthy as it does not need to use oil, and can cook each ingredient to its optimal texture and taste: 

• Non-vegetarian options include chicken, pork, seafood, or dashi broth
• Vegetarian options include vegetable, herbal, mushroom, and mala broth

What I love about making shabu shabu at home is that it’s highly customizable according to your preference, and there is a wide range of choices for ingredients: 

• Protein options include thinly sliced pork, beef, or lamb; duck meat slices, shrimp, mussels, clams, or crab. You can also include meatballs or hotpot balls. 
• Vegetarian options include tofu, varieties of beancurd, and different kinds of mushrooms
• Vegetables like mustard greens, watercress, cabbage, spinach, bean sprouts, and sweet corn
• Root crops like carrots, daikon, lotus root, wintermelon, and taro

You cook these in order, by cooking dense veggies and hotpot balls first, then the meat batch by batch to keep from overcooking, then the leafy veggies. As long as there are ingredients, you can continue cooking and eating. Refill the cooking pot with water as the soup reduces. 

And typically, you can also add different kinds of noodles like vermicelli, udon, or ramen noodles, then serve them with a soy-based dipping sauce. This is super comforting in the cold weather! It’s also light and nutritious, but super low effort. 

Shabu Shabu is a great meal that can be served on both special occasions or for easy weeknight meals. All you need to do is prepare the ingredients, then cook and eat together. But as for me, I always find ways to make things even easier to make. 

Ingredients for Easy One-Pot Shabu Shabu

Disclaimer: I get a small commission at no additional cost to you when you make a qualified purchase under the affiliate links.

This one-pot shabu shabu has helped me lose weight because it allows me to incorporate lots of vegetables into my meal times. Everything is literally in here—protein, veggies, and kick from the sauce for the least effort—chop, steam, dip, and eat! 

I mean it when I say that you don’t need to give up Asian food when you’re trying to be healthy! This literally energizes me when I eat! Some other recipes that helped me in my diet include Boy Choy Stir Fry, Shirataki Noodle Salad, and Spicy Minced Tofu Bowl. 

Use vegetables like bean sprouts, napa cabbage, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. These vegetables contain high water content, so when you place them on heat, they will soften and steam in their own juice.

For protein options, use thinly sliced beef brisket and ribeye, so it’s easy to cook and remains tender after cooking. You can usually find these in Asian grocery stores. 

This is a soupless shabu shabu. No need to use broth as the vegetable will yield juices, but if you want to make this more comforting, add only about a cup of your choice of broth. 

The most important part of this dish is the sauce. Use a combination of soy sauce, sweet vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, scallions, and pepper flakes. You can customize this by adding more pepper flakes for spice or scallions for freshness. This is the key that will liven up the whole dish!

How to Make One-Pot Shabu Shabu 

This shabu shabu recipe literally takes less than 2 minutes to prepare! Chop off any roots from cabbage, bokchoy, and mushrooms, and wash all the vegetables thoroughly. 

In a pot, place the vegetables side-by-side until it is filled. Layer the mushrooms on top, then the beef slices above it. 

Cover the pot, place on high heat for 6-7 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining soy sauce, sweet vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, scallions, and pepper flakes. Mix this well. 

Serve the pot and sauce, optionally, with rice, and enjoy! This is a great dish on its own, but you can eat it with rice or any choice of noodles to make it more filling. 

Recipe Notes: 

1. Do note that this dish does not have any measurements because as the vegetables cook, it will water down, thus shrinking. The only indicator I can share is that a filled 8-10 inch pot can yield for only 1-2 people, so multiply accordingly. And if multiplying, add about 3-5 minutes cooking time per serving added. 
2. Best to also prepare the sauce individually so each one can customize and enjoy it by themselves. 
3. Shabu Shabu is a very versatile way of cooking and eating, so don’t be afraid to take the ingredients you like (or what’s available to you) and make it your own. Just don’t forget the dipping sauce to make the dish flavorful! 

Other easy and comforting dishes you might like: 

• Spam Kimchi Jjigae 
• Vegetable Porridge 
• Easy Udon Noodle Soup 
• Pumpkin Porridge 
• Hangover Soup 
• Seaweed Soup 

Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo! 

Posted By: Chef Chris Cho · In: 30-Mins / One Pot / One Pan Dishes, Beef, Main Dishes, Non-Spicy, Vegetables and Fruits