Name: Veggie Shabu-Shabu with Sesame Sauce
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: JapaneseAsianAsia
Ingredients: 1/4 cup sesame seeds , toasted; 1 garlic clove , minced; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon red miso; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1/2 teaspoon water; 8 ounces dried udon noodles; Salt; 9 cups water; 1/2 ounce kombu seaweed , rinsed; 1/2 ounce wakame seaweed , rinsed; 1/2 cup mirin; 1/4 cup fish sauce substitute; 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar; 3 heads baby bok choy (4 ounces each), sliced ⅛ inch thick; 3 carrot , peeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick; 14 ounces soft tofu , cut into ½-inch cubes; 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms , stemmed and sliced thin

Why This Recipe Works

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hot-pot dish in which beef, vegetables, and tofu are simmered in broth and then served with chewy udon noodles and dipping sauces. The most common dashi broth is made from glutamate-rich kombu seaweed and bonito (tuna) flakes. For a vegetarian version, we needed to find a way to replicate the bonito's fishy flavor. After a good deal of trial and error, we found that adding a second variety of seaweed (wakame), plenty of fish sauce substitute, rice wine, and sugar replicated the depth of the bonito. Shabu-shabu typically includes carrots, napa cabbage or bok choy, enoki or shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and chrysanthemum leaves. (Chrysanthemum leaves can be found in Japanese markets, but we omitted them here.) We preferred bok choy to cabbage and the fuller flavor of shiitake mushrooms to enoki. A dollop of a sesame sauce made with mayonnaise, miso, garlic, and lemon juice was the perfect garnish.

Before You Begin

We prefer the flavor of red miso here, but white miso can be substituted; do not substitute “light” miso because its flavor is too mild. You will need our vegetarian fish sauce substitute for this recipe.

Instructions

for the sesame sauce

Stir all ingredients together in bowl until smooth.

for the soup

Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add udon noodles and ½ tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until tender; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring water, kombu, and wakame to brief boil in large pot over medium heat. Remove from heat and discard seaweed.

Stir in mirin, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to simmer over medium heat. Stir in bok choy and carrots and simmer until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in tofu, mushrooms, and cooked noodles and let heat through, about 1 minute. Drizzle individual portions with sesame sauce and serve.