As I continue to watch news regarding the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear incidents coming out of Japan, it is very difficult for me to imagine the lives of millions of people in northeastern Japan still without electricity or water in near freezing temperature. The earthquake experts are saying there will be a 40% probability of a new earthquake exceeding magnitude 5.0 occurring over the next few days. I spoke to my mom who lives in Yokohama (near Tokyo), and it seems like people are confused and terrified about what else could happen. All my prayers to the people of Japan.
If you live in or near an earthquake area, make sure you have earthquake emergency packs ready for you and your family. Here’s the link to the USGS article for the SF Bay area (http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/) for additional information.
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Besides Shabu Shabu, another popular Japanese hot pot dish (nabemono) is Sukiyaki. The main ingredient is thinly sliced beef simmered in the sukiyaki sauce. The beef slices for Sukiyaki is slightly thicker than Shabu Shabu. Pay attention to the label on the meat package in Japanese supermarkets because they are usually labeled specifically for Shabu Shabu or Sukiyaki.
Shabu Shabu is usually prepared and cooked in an earthen pot but Sukiyaki uses a cast-iron pot. We put many vegetables and other ingredients in addition to the thinly sliced beef. The quality of beef used in Sukiyaki is very important and you need to pick marbled fatty beef for this dish. Sukiyaki is usually cooked on the dining table over a portable stove and each person uses their chopsticks to pick up the ingredients from the pan as they are being cooked.
It’s a perfect dinner for family and friends get together, and not to mention, all you have to do is to chop ingredients before dinner time! The following direction is for Kansai style sukiyaki where the meat is cooked first before the rest of the ingredients are added. Kanto style sukiyaki places all the ingredients in the pot and cook at the same time. Although it’s not recommended for health reasons in the US, Japanese usually enjoy dipping the cooked Sukiyaki food in fresh raw egg. The sweetness of the raw egg coating the food tastes pretty amazing.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb thinly sliced beef for Sukiyaki
- 8 Napa cabbage leaves
- ½ bunch Shungiku (Tong Hao in Chinese, or Garland Chrysanthemum)
- 5-7 Shiitake mushrooms, curve decorative shapes
- 1 pkg enoki mushrooms
- 1 pkg maitake mushrooms
- 1 Tokyo Negi
- 1 Yaki Tofu
- 1 pkg shirataki noodles (yam noodles) or cellophane noodles, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 carrot, curve into flower petals
- 1 Tbsp. oil or lard
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 cup dashi stock (or water) to dilute the sauce
- 4 pasteurized eggs for dipping (please use very fresh raw eggs), beaten in each dipping bowl
- 1 pkg Udon
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup sake
- 1 cup mirin
- 4 Tbsp. sugar
Instructions:
- Cut all ingredients into bite-size pieces and arrange them on a large plate (I forgot to put Shirataki in the picture below).
- Make Sauce. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for Sukiyaki Sauce, and bring it to a boil. Set aside.
- Set a portable gas cook top at the table and put a cast iron pot. Heat oil in the pot.
- Add beef.
- Sprinkle brown sugar (I think this is Osaka style and that’s how my mom used to cook).
- Flip the beef.
- Pour half of Sukiyaki Sauce in the pot.
- Bring it to a boil.
- Add other ingredients and put a lid.
- When it boils again, lower the heat and let it simmer until all of the ingredients are soft. If the sauce is salty, add dashi stock to adjust. Crack one egg into a small serving bowl (serve per person) and beat carefully. Dip the cooked sukiyaki into the egg and eat. The salty taste will be more mild after dipping the egg.
- When you add more ingredients later on, adjust the sauce in the pot by adding more Sukiyaki Sauce and/or dashi stock. The sauce in the pot can get salty by cooking for a long time. In that case, add dashi stock to dilute the sauce. On the other hand, if the sauce got diluted by adding lots of veggies, then add more Sukiyaki Sauce.
- When most of the ingredients are gone, add in Udon and cook for a few minutes. We usually eat noodles at the end to finish the meal.
Hi, I'm Nami. Thanks for stopping by Just One Cookbook. You can read little bit more about me 
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
This is delicious!
Thank you ChefBlogDigest!
Love sukiyaki! Mom’s friend made it for dinner on my first visit to Japan years ago. Brings back such good memories. She made it with clear noodles so not sure what style that is. They’re from the Mie Perfecture. Thanks for sharing your recipe. This is a weekend recipe to make where one can eat at his/her own pace and relax or passout.
Hi Linda! Clear noodles are called Shirataki. Haha, pass out is right. Very fulfilling…
I always wanted to try this, but I never have. I can’t afford to eat out a lot, but I will make this at home.
Hi Kath! Yeah it’s very expensive to eat Sukiyaki & Shabu Shabu at those specialty restaurant in Japan too. And here in the US, some restaurant serves Sukiyaki, but honestly they don’t taste so good… and you can make Sukiyaki MUCH cheaper at home with BETTER quality beef. So we even eat Shabu Shabu at home (SF area has several Shabu Shabu restaurants – but I would say over-priced for just Konbu dashi soup…). For both Sukiyaki & Shabu Shabu you will need a good quality (aka. fatty or marble) thinly sliced meat to fully enjoy the experience.
Thank you for providing such an informative and well organized food blog. My Chipanese daughter (chinese/japanese) loves your recipes and so do I!
Hi Nancy! You are welcome and thank you for following my blog! I love to be organized but life with two children gets so hectic and I can’t be as organized as I wish to be… But I’ll do my best. I didn’t know Chinese and Japanese children are called Chipanese. My kid are Chipanese then. =)
Hi Nami,
The Sukiyaki recipe is excellent and very easy to make!
Do you have other “stew like ” japanese recipes perhaps?
Looking forward,
best regards,
Rolf
Hi Rolf! Thank you! So far I only few dishes and you can find it here: http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipe-index/nabe-hot-pot/
Hope to add more in the future. Thank you again for your feedback!
Oh yummy! This recipe is right up my alley! I’ll make it for lunch one day soon!
Thanks for the great idea!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING!!!!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes you’ve shared. My family have enjoyed everything I’ve made from you blog.
Every time I see sukiyaki, I think of Rurouni Kenshin! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Nami, I cannot wait to try this dish. My boyfriend (Matt) is part Japanese (kyoto region). His father, who passed a year ago, used to make this for him all the time. matt cannot cook to save his life, however he has been craving for some sukiyaki. I love to cook and have been searching for an authentic Kyoto style sukiyaki recipe for days. I will have him try it and hope this will flood his mind with the joys of his father! Thank You.
I make sukiyaki all the time, it is a quick go to dinner. But i have a sauce i just use from the store that is delicious, i ran out and went to look at your blog for making the sauce, didn;t realize how easy it was. One i am done, i add a raw egg on top and then also add some Sriracha love it spicy. Love it! Thanks for the sauce recipe!
I made this for a dinner for 6 adults and our 4 kids this week. We (the adults) lingered long over the meal, cooking, eating, chatting. Everyone was impressed I had made this from scratch (including the dashi) and said it was a most memorable meal. Thank you for sharing, Nami, so that we may share in turn!
Hi Angie! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this meal. Nabe (hot pot) is perfect for get-together. We often serve this or Shabu Shabu as party meal too since I prepare less and everyone cooks.
I’m so happy to hear you and your guests enjoy this meal. Thank you for letting me know!
This sounds so good and I want to make it. I am new to cooking so can you suggest the cut of meat i should buy?
Hi Jennifer! In a Japanese grocery store, look for a packaged sliced beef that’s prepared for Sukiyaki. It’s a little bit thicker slice compared to Shabu Shabu (another hot pot dish). Korean or Chinese stores usually carry some thinly cut meat as well. Hope that helps.
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