HOME > Chowhound > Outer Boroughs >
What's your latest food project? Get great advice

Cook it yourself in Hot Oil Restaurant?

feedmeplg Jan 31, 2009 03:31 PM

Ok, so apparently there is a kind of asian (I think Japanese) restaurant where you have a pot of hot oil on a burner in the middle of the table and you get raw meat and egg and you cook the meat in the oil and then dip it in the egg. I would really like to try this, but I can't figure out what it is called or if there are any restaurants in the City that do this. Help!

  1. j
    JCMinJapan Feb 8, 2010 01:54 AM

    You are thinking about Kushiage. Yes, this is Japanese cuisine and has been around for a long long time. I am really suprised that it is not more well known outside of Japan really.

    Here is one of the all-you-can eat ones (cook it yourself) where they are at your table. I go to this one below a lot. All you can drink alcohol as well if you like. Awesome restaurant, good price really, and great to go wih a lot of firends and spend time.
    In Japan: http://www.bento.com/rev/3137.html

    Now, I have not heard of any "cook yourself" kushiage restaurants in the states., but this one below is very good.
    In NYC: There is Sachikos on Clinton that has Kushiage.
    http://www.sachikosonclinton.com/ (chef prepared kushiage)

    Now, most kushiage restuarants prepare the kushiage by a chef, sort of reminds you of a sushi restaurant, but breaded oiled veggies and meat on a stick.

    3 Replies
    1. re: JCMinJapan
      bigjeff Feb 8, 2010 05:33 AM

      the poster doesn't sound like they are talking about breaded items deep-fried which is what I always thought kushiage was; the items never go into the oil un-breaded, right? and never saw egg with kushiage either. however, if they were imagining a restaurant where you dip the raw foods into an egg wash, and then a breadcrumb or panko dish, and THEN deep-fry at your own station then wow, that would be a messy restaurant experience. interesting thought tho.

      1. re: bigjeff
        JCMinJapan Feb 8, 2010 09:21 AM

        ha ha ha... well, there is no raw egg in the kushiage restaurant where you cook at your table. but, there is a wet batter and the bread crumbs (panko) that you put the raw meat/veggies into and then cook it up at your own station. So, I am assuming that the egg wash is really just the wet batter prior to the panko. AND yes, especially after a few beers the panko can be a bit messy on the table. ha ha ha

        First, get the emat/veggie on a stick from the counter
        dip into the wet batter
        dip into the bread crumbs (panko)
        put into oil, wait a sufficient amount of time and then take it out
        lay the sticks on a little rack that puts the extra oil back into the station and wait to cool
        Dip them into one of 5 or 6 sauces or into some flavored salts as well.

        Awesome stuff.

        But, not 100% for the poster, but, this seems the closest that there is. All but the egg match with me assuming they would bread the meats prior.. ha ha

        If not, then they are talking sukiyaki, but then there is no oil in that. which has been mentioned above.

        1. re: JCMinJapan
          bigjeff Feb 8, 2010 10:26 AM

          wow, they really have your own batter/crumb dipping? that is amazing. holy crap!!! I would leave mine in an extra 6 seconds; I like well-done :)

    2. bigjeff Feb 8, 2009 08:08 PM

      sounds like you're mixing oil fondue (european-style, meats dipped in hot oil and I've only had that at people's houses) with asian-style hotpot (the raw egg mixed with various sauces). if you're looking for hot oil fondue in a restaurant, never heard of it in manhattan although there's tons of cheese fondue places which *may* have the oil one on the menu.


      1. Caralien Feb 4, 2009 10:26 AM

        There's a Vietnamese version in Bay Ridge at Pho Hoa 86, right at the 86th street (4th Ave) subway stop on the N/R, that does the broth version, though there's not egg, and you cook the meat and then roll in rice paper and lettuce with some cilantro and dip into fish sauce.

        My husband's favourite.

        Pho Hoai 86
        2171 86th St, Brooklyn, NY 11214

        1. a
          amedemonet Feb 4, 2009 10:07 AM

          that's shabu shabu (jap)/hot pot (chinese). Plenty of places in NYC, Queens has Mimi, Happy Family. Manhattan has Quickly's on Grand and Bowery, Grand Sichuan etc.. Japanese are better quality meat but I don't like the bland broth. It's not oil, but broth.

          The yolk is used only, you mix with alot of other dips like soy sauce, sesame paste, chili, sesame oill, parsley, and the most important, lots of sa cha sauce.

          Go to Quickly's and Mimi's for your first experience. Individual pots and you mix your own broth.


          1. Caroline1 Feb 1, 2009 06:52 AM

            As others have noted, you're likely talking about Asian variations of "fondu" where food is cooked at the table in hot broth. I don't know of any that cook in hot oil, but that only shows that if there are any, I don't know about them.

            Some of the names run from "hot pot" to "shabu szhabu" to "sukiyaki," and loads of other variants. If you have an electric frying pan or a table top electric hot plate or gas burner, you're good to go for making it at home. Just do a search (Google?) for any of the names and you;ll get a ton of recipes.

            A critical thing is to slice the veef paper thin. You;ll best accomplish this by partially freezing the beef, then slicing it with a very sharp knife at an angle. There are recipes that call for making it with pork, but I've never tried that myself. You can also use fish or shellfish if you like. Again, slice thin.

            Vegetables are used in any comvination you like. Most commonly used ingredients are mushrooms, leafy vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, of if you can find it, trefoil. I always aim for veggies with similar cooking times but some prefer a wide variety of "doneness" in their end product. If you want to add a little Japanese flair, you can cut four to five "V" shaped gouges down the length of the carrot, round the edges of the gouge, then slice into flower shapes. Makes for a very attractive presentation.

            Noodles are also a standard ingredient. Shirataki or cellophane noodles are traditional, but you can use whatever you prefer. I like udon. Cubes of tofu are also commonly used.

            Everything is arranged on one or two platters -- you'll find lots of pictures on the web -- then cooked at the table in a special broth, usually flavored with seaweed, but all sorts of variations from miso soup to to chicken broth are acceptable.

            There are a gazillion variations on the theme of cooking in hot broth at the table. Like fondue, there are even variations in which everyone cooks their own food in turn.

            With sukiyaki, it's traditional for each diner to have a small bowl with a raw egg in it (use pasteurized eggs!) that are beaten with chopsticks, then to food is dipped into the egg before eating. A fun thing to do at the end of the meal is to pour all of the leftover beaten eggs into the leftover sukiyaki broth where it turns into a sort of egg-drop soup. Pass bowls of it to all diners. Good stuff!

            There are lots of restaurants that offer all sorts of hot pots, but it's also a pretty easy meal to do at home and it promotes lots of laughing, chatting, and good spirits. Enjoy!

            1 Reply
            1. re: Caroline1
              feedmeplg Feb 3, 2009 12:06 PM

              Very informative, Thanks!

            2. goodhealthgourmet Jan 31, 2009 04:00 PM

              the Japanese version (traditionally with a pot of broth or dashi, not oil) is known as shabu-shabu, and there are plenty of restaurants in LA...


              1. dumpycactus Jan 31, 2009 03:41 PM

                oil or broth?
                if broth, it would be chinese or mongolian hotpot

                Show Hidden Posts