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Japan, Asia · Shabu-Shabu

Cold Shabu Salad Bowl with Sesame Ponzu

Pork poached gently below the boil for melting tenderness, piled over rice with crisp greens, avocado and a jammy egg, and drizzled with nutty sesame ponzu.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time42 min
DifficultyEasy
About servingsSoft-boiled eggs have runny yolks. For children, pregnant women, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, boil the eggs for 9–10 minutes until fully set.

Method

  1. Bring a small pan of water deep enough to cover the eggs to the boil over high heat. Lower in the eggs straight from the fridge with a ladle, keep at a lively simmer for , then plunge them into iced water to cool and peel. The yolks will be soft and jammy.

    Add in this stepEggs, straight from the fridge 2

    high heat

  2. Dressing: put the sesame paste and sugar in a bowl and whisk in the ponzu a little at a time until smooth, then stir in the sesame oil. It will seize up and thicken at first, then loosen as you add more ponzu.

    Add in this stepSesame paste (tahini) 2 tbspPonzu sauce 3 tbspToasted sesame oil 1 tspSugar 1 tsp

  3. Bring the water to the boil in a 20 cm pot over high heat, add the sake, then lower the heat to low heat and pour in a cup of cold water so it sits around 80 °C, with small bubbles rising only from the bottom. Add the pork 3–4 slices at a time, spreading them out and swishing with chopsticks, for about per batch, and lift them out when completely white with no pink at all. Pork poached in rolling water curls up and turns dry.

    Add in this stepWater (for poaching) 1½ LSake 1 tbspThin-sliced pork shoulder for shabu-shabu 200 g

    high heat→low heat

  4. Spread the poached pork out in a sieve and let it cool at room temperature for ; don't plunge it into iced water, which sets the fat and toughens the meat. Meanwhile tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces, slice the cucumber thinly on the diagonal and halve the tomatoes. Slice the avocado just before assembling so it doesn't brown.

  5. Put the rice in each bowl, lay the lettuce to one side, and arrange the cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and pork in neat sections on top.

    Add in this stepWarm or room-temperature cooked rice 300 gRomaine lettuce 80 gCucumber 1Cherry tomatoes 8Ripe avocado 1

  6. Halve the soft-boiled eggs and add them, spoon the dressing generously over the pork and vegetables, scatter with spring onion and sesame seeds and serve straight away. Break the yolk and mix it in with the dressing as you eat.

    Add in this stepSliced spring onion 2 tbspToasted white sesame seeds 1 tsp

Cook's tip

With shabu-shabu beef instead of pork, 10 seconds' poaching is enough. If you don't like runny yolks, boil the eggs for 9–10 minutes. The dressing keeps for 3 days in the fridge, which makes this a great packed lunch; squeeze a little lemon over the avocado if you do.

Cooking it at camp

One burner and one pot are all you need, which makes this a great hot-day camp lunch. Boil the eggs and cook the rice at home. Keep the pork in a cooler at 4 °C or below and eat it within 2 hours of poaching.