Sukiyaki: Japanese Beef Hotpot

There’s a reason sukiyaki has been one of the best-loved Japanese dishes in the world for decades—it’s truly Japanese, but also satisfying and delicious by Western standards. Watch faces light up when even people who “don’t like Japanese food” see this tasty stick-to-your ribs pleasure appear on the table. This can be a lean and healthy dinner or you can add noodles at the end to fill up those with bigger appetites.

Sukiyaki

Serves 4

For the cooking sauce:

3/4 cup (180ml) soy sauce

3/4 cup (180ml) mirin

3/4 cup (180ml) water

1/4 cup (50gr) sugar

What to cook in the sukiyaki sauce:

1 lb. (450gr) steak or beef shoulder

1 big block (or two small blocks) firm tofu

4 leeks, cleaned

1 bunch enoki mushrooms, trimmed and divided into pinky-sized bundles
and/or
6-8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

Several handfuls of edible chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku) or spinach leaves

7 oz. (200gr) shirataki noodles or udon noodles (optional)

4 egg yolks (optional)

Directions:

If you have a tabletop burner and a hotpot, cook the sukiyaki in the traditional Japanese way at the table. To make it family style, use a deep frying pan and cook it on the stove.

Prepare the tofu: Put the tofu in a pan with a weighted plate on top to squeeze the extra water from it. (It will taste the same if you cook it without this step, but you’ll need to fish it out of the pot with a spoon instead of chopsticks, because it breaks apart easily when it’s hot and soaked with saucy goodness.)

Mix cooking sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer on the stove while you cut the vegetables and meat. (If you’re adding shirataki or udon noodles at the end, boil water in a big pot and cook noodles according to directions on package. Rinse and set aside.)

Rinse the leeks, remove outer layer, and slice them into bite-sized pieces.

Slice the steak into chunks roughly 1″ x 3″ (2.5cm x 7.5cm), then turn each cut piece on its side (cut side down) and slice as thin as you can.

Cut the pressed tofu into bite-sized chunks and set aside.

Heat a little oil in the pan and saute the leeks until they become fragrant. Put in the meat and stir fry until just pink in the middle. Add the sauce and stir. When it’s bubbling, add the mushrooms, tofu, and greens. Simmer on low heat until vegetables are tender.

Ladle the sukiyaki into bowls and serve. If you’re planning on adding noodles, add water to the sauce left in the pot so there’s enough liquid to warm them up in. Bring the thinned sauce up to boiling again and slip in the pre-cooked noodles. Let them heat up for a few minutes until they relax and are ready to make a satisfying finish to the meal.

Sukiyaki is traditionally served with a lightly beaten raw egg in a small side bowl at each seat, to use as a dipping sauce for the hot meat, tofu and vegetables. If you’re uncomfortable with that, you can leave it out, but as it combines with the sauce on the meat and veggies it does add a deep & authentic-tasting savoriness.

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