Hot pot or shabu shabu is easy to get in cities like San Francisco and Boston. There are Japanese, Korean or Mongolian restaurants who offer it for an okay price! Have you ever thought about doing it at home though? It's easier than you think :)

I bought a portable stove on Amazon (for only $15) and a Japanese pot (for only $10). After that, all you need are veggies, meat and good company (maybe some good beer and sake too).

What you need:

• Any veggie, how ever much you want. (I had lettuce, spinach, carrots, radish, zucchini)
• Mushrooms
• Meat (I had thin sliced pork, some people like beef too) 
• (Optional) Seafood
• Tofu
• (Optional) Noodles (e.g. udon)
• Sauce (I bought ponzu and sesame sauce, both available on Amazon or Japanese supermarkets)

Yup. That's it! 

For your broth, you can get creative (kimchi, soy milk, tomato sauce...); but since I was out of most ingredients, I just poured some sake in water, added a pinch of salt and some dashi.

You get to eat a lot of vegetables, and this dish warms you up. It's perfect for those chilly nights which make you want to feel cozy.

Time taken: 5 - 10 minutes
Approximately 300 kcal per serving

About This Dish:
I head over to my freezer when I find myself hungry and in need of a substantial and healthy Japanese meal at home. Why? Because I usually have a stash of udon hidden in my freezer! Yaki-Udon (Fried Udon) is one of Japan's most popular noodles, udon, stir fried with a bunch of vegetables and optionally meat. This recipe adds a delicious taste to the dish by adding a little bit of sesame oil and Japanese soy sauce! Be creative in your additions and you might end up with an amazing dish for lunch! My mom actually used to make this for me for breakfast. Good old days :) 


While you're at it, why not check out my other udon recipe as well? 

What You Need:
(Makes 2 servings)

• 1 package of udon noodles (I use frozen ones)
• (Optional) Vegetables of your choice (I use onion, cabbage, red pepper, mushrooms, carrots...)
• (Optional) Meat of your choice (I often use thin sliced pork)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 - 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Cook the udon noodles as instructed on package (I usually throw in the vegetables in the last few minute or so to boil together with the noodles)
2. Heat a pan on MEDIUM heat and throw in the noodles, vegetables and meat (if you have it). Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. 
3. At the end, season with sesame oil and serve! 

Number of steps:  10 simple steps
Time taken: 20-30 min 
Approx. 100kcal per patty

About This Dish:
Tofu hamburgs are healthy, filling and are easy to make! Most of all, you can saran wrap each one and store them in the freezer and eat it for lunch and dinner whenever you want. Drizzle some homemade teriyaki sauce on top of these patties and serve with rice and veggies. 

What You Need:
(Makes 7 patties)

• 1/2 lb Ground chicken 
• 1 tofu (I bought the medium firm tofu at Trader Joes)
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp of grated or chopped ginger 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• (optional) Garlic, 1 egg in the mix to hold all the ingredients better (if you want)

Teriyaki sauce

• 2.5 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Japanese sake
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 - 2 tbsp mirin

Number of steps: 10  (...but very easy!)
Time taken: 30 min
Aprrox. 150kcal per large patty.

About This Dish:
Craving Japanese style beef hamburgs? I crave those, but I love these tofu hamburgs even more given the fact that they are super super super healthy, and easy to make! You can make a bunch and freeze them up too. How convenient can it be?

What You Need:
(for 8 large tofu hamburgs)

• 1 firm tofu (They sell it most grocery store now!)
• 300g Ground turkey (1/2 - 2/3 of a pound, you can also use ground chicken) 
• 1 cup Japanese panko (bread crumbs, they also sell these at the asian section of most grocery stores)
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 egg
• Salt, pepper

Sauce

• About 10 cm of Japanese radish 
• 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1.5 tbsp Japanese sake (or any wine)

Note: Wrap them up with plastic wrap and freeze them! You can reheat on the pan or on the microwave. Very helpful on those busy days.