Yoshinobu Maruyama emigrated from his native Japan to the United States over three decades ago. After many years of work as a restaurant consultant and international trader he decided it was time to introduce shabu shabu to America. In Japanese, "shabu shabu" literally translates to "swish swish" and refers to the technique employed in preparing the dish. You take razor thin slices of beef and submerge them into a pot of boiling water—it cooks almost instantly. The beef is accompanied by an assortment of vegetables, noodles, and tofu that are also cooked in the water and served over rice. While some say the dish originated with Genghis Khan, it appeared in Maruyama's native Osaka in the early 20th century....
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My iPod Nano has been getting scratched raw, such as it is that I don't have a case for it. With all my iPods past and present, I've resisted a case because I've felt they only bulk up the device without adding the proper amount of visual interest. If this one, meant to look like thin strips of shabu shabu beef, was available in the U.S. and not just in Japan, though, I'd wrap it around my iPod in a second. [via The Gizmodo]...
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