There are three ways to describe the origin of shabu-shabu: the first is during the Yuan Dynasty, the second is during the Qing Dynasty, and the third is during the Song and Liao Dynasties, as follows:

1. Yuan Dynasty

Then Kublai was in command of his army on an expedition to the south, and in the midst of being exhausted, he remembered fiercely about his home dishes, so he let the military cooks cook them, but at this time he found out that there was an enemy, so the chef cut up the lamb into thin slices and shabu-shabu. After eating it, Kublai turned on his horse to meet the enemy and won the victory.

After returning to the camp after the victory, Genghis Khan asked the chef to make the dish again, and this time the chef was equipped with a lot of small ingredients and side dishes, and the generals ate it and everyone was so impressed that they asked Kublai to give it a name, and Kublai gave it the name "Shabu Shabu".

2. Qing Dynasty

Shabu-shabu, also known as "mutton hot pot," began in the early Qing Dynasty. In the 18th century, the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors held several large-scale "feasts for thousands of old men", in which lamb hot pot was served. Later spread to the market, operated by the mosque. The old capital of a hundred words" cloud: "mutton pot, for the cold years when the most common delicacy, to be eaten in the mutton museum. These eating methods, is the northern nomadic heritage to study and evolve, and become a special flavor."

3. Song and Liao

From archaeological data, an early Liao mural unearthed in Aohan Banner, Zhaoda League, Inner Mongolia, describes the scene of the Khitans eating shabu-shabu 1,100 years ago: three Khitans are seated around a hot pot. Some of them are shabu-shabuing mutton with chopsticks in the pot, and on the square table in front of the hot pot there is an iron bucket with mutton and a plate with ingredients. This is the earliest known depiction of shabu-shabu.

Somewhat later than the Liao murals, Lin Hong of the Southern Song Dynasty also dealt with shabu-shabu in his book Qingsui shanjia (Clear offerings of a mountain house). He originally praised the rabbit shabu-shabu he ate, not only detailing the method of shabu-shabu and the type of seasoning, but also writing a poem describing it, which reads, "Waves of snow on the clear river, the wind turns over and shines on the colorful clouds." This is due to the fact that the color of the rabbit meat slices in the hot soup is like the evening sun, so there is this verse.