[homiegina]

The first time I had shabu shabu was at Pho's 32 (a koreanized franchise of vietnamese food). The broth and the ingredients they gave me were fine, however, I didn't know what kind of sauce was suitable with it! I didn't like shabu shabu very much after my first unsuccessful attempt at creating the "perfect" sauce to go along with my shabu shabu, thereby making my shabu shabu experience generally bland.

But! that didn't stop me from trying it a second time.
The second time I had it was at a legit shabu shabu restaurant. Again, I had no idea what to mix and match at the self serve sauce table!! I ended up just dipping my cooked ingredients to regular vietnamese hot sauce, and I was some-what satisfied .

THE THIRD TIMEE!!! I had it again at another shabu shabu specializing place. Maybe it was the culture barrier, but I certainty had no idea what peanut sauce, and teh other things they laid out at the sauce table would taste like. This experience was exceptionally bad because the broth was so bland to begin with

ANYWAYS! my point is, what kind of sauces do you create to go along with your shabu shabu? I'm hoping after getting different opinions, I'll have a more pleasant shabu shabu experience next time!

Thanks in advance!

[nanshi]

Shacha Sauce or sometimes known as Chinese barbecue sauce (that's sometimes on the label of the jar).

Its color is a little like black bean paste, and it looks gritty. It's absolutely magical. Sometimes my mom will make lo mein or regular stir frys and throw this in there just to give it some extra kick and flavor. You can add chili paste or chili oil to make it spicier (it is naturally quite spicy), soy sauce to tone down the flavor, I usually add broth and sometimes raw egg yolk just to give it more fragrance. We also use it whenever we do grills and stuff.

Unfortunately, it's pretty exclusive to Taiwan and a few southern regions of China (mostly Fuzhou/Fujian), so I don't know how common it will be to find in restaurants around where you live. But I would try to make my own substitute with seasame oil, soy sauce, a pinch of peanut powder, and chili sauce. Although the sauce is really pivotal to a good Shabu Shabu, the broth is almost just as important. Sometimes, if you have a really marvelous broth going, sauces really aren't that important.

[MULOAN]

why don't you just ask the person working? i'm sure they'd help

[plumplum]

Haha! Maybe you just don't like it!

I've tried to like phở, I've tried to like ice cream, but I just don't!

I think shabushabu is bland, too. Try sukiyaki or a nabe dish (not oden, it's mainly chikuwa/stuff made with fish paste). It's kind of similar but there's more flavor.

What are your ingredients? What kinds of meat?

[vip_gd]

no, not rly
but at this one place
they freakin' charged soy sauce for so much!