Photohunt: Cloud (Shabu-shabu 101)

Ok, I actually have lots and lots of cloud photos but I couldn't single one out for this entry. This is why I decided to take a different route and in the process share with you an interesting experience I had a few days ago... let me present "steam cloud!"

This faint wisp of cloud is just a sign of things to come.

Last Tuesday evening, I got schooled in the art and science of eating shabu-shabu. It seems this method can be traced back to 13th Century Mongolia to none other than Genghis Khan himself. The story goes that with his army constantly on the move, finding good food that's both nutritious and easy to prepare became a neccesity. The solution? A large pot of boiling water to dip thin slices of meat that they can eat right away and even provide them with soup to drink. It's both fast and easy, thus conserving not only their supply of fuel but the troop's energy as well.

The school: Healthy Shabu- Shabu at EDSA Shangri-la Mall

The Professor: Candy Hwang, owner of the Healthy Shabu-shabu, local pioneer of the "one-person, one-pot" style (which is definitely more hygienic and allows you to create and innovate)

As you can see, each seat has their own stove and pot.

Course syllabus: I enrolled for the combination of meat and seafood of course

Lab Equipment: plate, bowls, Chinese spoon, chopsticks, soup ladle, shabu-shabu ladle and your own pot and stove of course!

My school things


Special sauce base w/ spices, chopped garlic, spring onion and chilli pepper, raw egg, and sate


Vegetable platter: Taiwan and Baguio pechay, tofu, taro (gabi), black mushroom, carrots, sweet corn, 2 types of noodles: vermicelli (thin and translucent a.k.a. "bihon") and egg noodle (flat & white), fish cake, and an assortment of balls ( squid and beef I think)


Seafood set: Prawn, squid, sea cucumber, oyster and fish fillet

The meat in the combo: thinly sliced Angus beef!

Here's a peek at my seat work. What can I say? I love veggies! (Not as much as the angus beef though)

I actually came to class with quite an extensive experience in shabu-shabu, despite this though, I still went home learning quite a number of things. Permit me to enumerate.

1. Corn and taro are the first in because they take the longest to cook, plus they give the soup a certain flavor right from the start. I personally prefer leaving the taro in the pot until last so that it crumbles--it actually gives the soup a thicker texture.
2. Veggies, tofu, the vermicelli, and the balls should not be soaked for more than 30 secs.
   
3. You'd want to put the shrimp in early (and other seafoods too for that matter) to add flavor to the soup (fish should not be left longer than 5-10mins. though, otherwise it ends up crumbling to pieces)
4. You soak the meat only when the soup base comes to a boil. The meat (and oyster) should be soaked for no more than 20 sec.--just enough to make it tender and juicy. Overcooking the meat will make it rubbery and thus unpalatable. Beating an egg and pouring it over beef or lamb (meats that tend to be tougher) will help tenderize them more before the actual cooking.
   
5. The special sauce! Mix the special sauce base, garlic, onion, and sate (add chili pepper as prefered). What makes it special? Why the egg yolk of course!
   

Don't forget to mix 'em all together of course!

And one last thing, how can I forget...

My classmates!

NB: Click here for more pictures. By the way, do we have any classmates from the south? JC (who lives far far from Alabang) got GC's for Alabang Town Center. If you want to contact him for a swap, just give him a shoutout at Chicken Mafia.

School's out! Time to practice what I've learned... yuummm!!

Other campuses: Powerplant Mall, The Podium, SM Mall of Asia, Robinson's Galleria, The Block, Alabang Town Center, Robinsons Midtown and Shangri La Plaza Mall. For inquiries, feel free to call (632)-627-3721 or (632)-672-3290.

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