John Miller
Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot dish that is typically cooked and served at the table. It is made with thinly sliced beef, tofu, vegetables, and mushrooms, all simmered in a sweet and savory broth. The dish is often enjoyed during colder months and shared with family and friends. While beef is the primary ingredient today, historically, pork was also commonly used in certain regions. The dish has become synonymous with Japanese cuisine and is said to have originated during the Meiji era.
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What You'll Learn
Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot dish
The key ingredient that gives sukiyaki its distinctive flavor is the sukiyaki mushroom, also known as "enoki" mushrooms. These mushrooms are cultivated mainly in East Asia and are a vital ingredient in various Asian dishes due to their delicate texture and mild flavor. Enoki mushrooms are easily identifiable by their small white caps and long, thin stems. They grow in clusters and are often sold in bunches, with the stems bound together. When cooked, enoki mushrooms have a soft and slippery texture, making them an ideal addition to hot pot dishes like sukiyaki.
To prepare sukiyaki, thin slices of beef are first cooked in a sweet and savory broth made from soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine). This broth provides a balanced combination of sweet and salty flavors that enhances the taste of the dish. Various vegetables are then added to the pot, including napa cabbage, onions, and of course, enoki mushrooms. One of the unique aspects of sukiyaki is that the ingredients are not thoroughly cooked. Instead, they are briefly simmered to retain their texture and flavor.
Once the ingredients are cooked to the desired level, they are dipped into a raw egg before being eaten. This might seem unusual to some, but the raw egg acts as a rich and creamy sauce, enhancing the flavors of the dish. The egg is typically mixed with a small amount of soy sauce or other seasonings to add a savory touch. This combination of flavors and textures makes sukiyaki a truly unique and indulgent dining experience.
To enjoy sukiyaki, diners use chopsticks to pick their desired ingredients from the hot pot, dipping them into the raw egg before consuming them. This style of eating encourages interaction and a sense of community among those sharing the meal. It is customary to serve sukiyaki with a side of steamed rice and pickled vegetables, providing a refreshing contrast to the rich flavors of the main dish. The rice also helps to soak up the delicious broth, ensuring that every last drop is savored.
In conclusion, sukiyaki is a heartwarming and versatile Japanese hot pot dish that brings people together. The combination of tender beef, flavorful broth, and the distinctive sukiyaki mushrooms creates an explosion of tastes and textures. The ritual of cooking and sharing this dish fosters a sense of community and makes sukiyaki an enjoyable and memorable dining experience for all who partake in it.
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It is cooked with thinly sliced beef
Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot dish that is typically cooked and served at the table. It is made with thinly sliced beef, tofu, vegetables, and mushrooms, simmered in a sweet and savoury broth. The dish is nutritious, simple to prepare, and perfect for a weeknight meal.
The beef used in sukiyaki is well-marbled, meaning it has a good amount of fat running through the meat. It is usually sliced thinly, although the style of slicing differs slightly between the Kansai and Kanto regions of Japan. In the Kansai style, the meat is heated in the pot first, and the other ingredients are added once it is almost cooked. In the Kanto style, the meat and vegetables are added to the pot at the same time and simmered together.
To cook sukiyaki with thinly sliced beef, start by preparing the sukiyaki sauce. Boil sake and mirin first to let the alcohol evaporate, then add sugar and soy sauce, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Next, prepare your ingredients. Besides the thinly sliced beef and tofu, you can use a variety of vegetables and mushrooms. Common choices include napa cabbage, scallions, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo, and chrysanthemum leaves. You can also add noodles to your sukiyaki, such as vermicelli noodles or glass noodles made from konnyaku or corm.
Once your ingredients are ready, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan or pot. Fry the white parts of the scallions in the oil for about 2 minutes, then add the thinly sliced beef. Sear the beef for about 10 seconds, then add a drizzle of your prepared sukiyaki sauce. Fry the beef until it just starts to brown, but it should still be slightly pink.
Remove the beef from the pot and set it aside. Add the remaining sukiyaki sauce and some stock or water to the pot, and bring it to a boil. Add the tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables to the pot in sections, simmering until they are cooked through. Finally, return the beef to the pot and sprinkle with chopped scallions. Serve your sukiyaki with rice and a raw egg for dipping, if desired.
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It can be made with tofu and vegetables
Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot dish that is typically made with thinly sliced beef, tofu, and vegetables simmered in a sweet and savoury broth. It is a quick, nutritious, and simple weeknight meal that can be made with a variety of vegetables and mushrooms.
For a vegan or vegetarian option, you can omit the beef and add more tofu and meaty mushrooms such as king oyster mushrooms. You can also use meat alternative products. The key ingredients in sukiyaki are tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables, so feel free to get creative with the types of veggies and mushrooms you use!
- Prepare the sukiyaki sauce by boiling sake and mirin first to let the alcohol evaporate, then add sugar and soy sauce until the sugar is completely dissolved. You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
- Gather your vegetables, tofu, and mushrooms. For vegetables, you can use leafy greens such as napa cabbage, bok choy, spinach, or chrysanthemum greens. You can also use onion, long green onion, carrot, burdock root, cabbage, watercress, eggplant, potatoes, or Asian vegetables like bean sprouts. For mushrooms, you can use rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, or king oyster mushrooms. For tofu, you can use grilled tofu or regular tofu.
- Cut the vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan or pot over medium heat. You can also use beef tallow if you have it.
- Add the vegetables to the pan and cook until fragrant. You can start with the onions and then add the other vegetables.
- Add the tofu and mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes. You may want to turn the grilled tofu over halfway through cooking to allow it to soak up the flavours evenly.
- Pour in the sukiyaki sauce and simmer until all the ingredients are cooked through.
- Serve with rice and a beaten raw egg, if desired. Enjoy!
Feel free to adjust the recipe to your taste and get creative with the ingredients! Sukiyaki is a versatile and delicious dish that is perfect for a cosy weeknight meal or a get-together with friends and family.
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It is cooked in a sweet and savoury broth
Sukiyaki is a classic Japanese dish that is traditionally cooked at the table like a hot pot. It is a quick, nutritious, and simple weeknight meal that is loaded with vegetables, mushrooms, and thinly sliced beef cooked in a sweet and savoury broth.
The dish is cooked in a cast-iron pot over a portable butane stove at the dining table. The pot is heated over medium heat, and ingredients such as sake, mirin, brown sugar, and soy sauce are added and brought to a boil. The sugar needs to be completely dissolved. The sweet and savoury broth can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Once the broth is ready, the remaining ingredients are added to the pot. These include tofu slices, rehydrated shiitake and enoki mushrooms, napa cabbage, tong ho, scallions, and vermicelli noodles. The white parts of the scallions are fried in vegetable oil for 2 minutes, and the green parts are finely chopped and set aside. The thinly sliced beef is then added to the pan and seared for 10 seconds. A drizzle of sukiyaki sauce is added, and the meat is fried until it begins to brown, but it should still be slightly pink. The rest of the sukiyaki sauce and stock are added, and the remaining ingredients are added in sections. The pot is covered and brought to a boil, and the ingredients are simmered until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. The beef is then added back to the pot, and the dish is served with rice and egg yolk, if desired.
There are different variations of sukiyaki, such as the Kansai style from western Japan and the Kanto style from eastern Japan. In the Kansai style, the meat is heated in the pot first, and the other ingredients are added later. Sukiyaki can also be made in a vegetarian version by adding more tofu and meaty mushrooms such as king oyster mushrooms.
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There are different styles of sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a Japanese one-pot dish (nabemono) that was developed during the Meiji era. It is a hot pot dish of beef, vegetables, tofu, and noodles simmered in a sweet sauce. It is a simple, nutritious, and quick weeknight meal.
There are two main styles of sukiyaki: the Kanto style from eastern Japan and the Kansai style from western Japan. In the Kanto style, warishita (a mixture of sake, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and dashi) is poured and heated in a pot, then meat, vegetables, and other ingredients are added and simmered together. The Kanto version grills the beef in a cast-iron pot. Some people grill the beef directly on the greased pot, while others cook the beef with a little bit of the sukiyaki sauce.
In the Kansai style, meat is heated in the pot first. When the meat is almost cooked, sugar, sake, and soy sauce are added, then vegetables and other ingredients are added last. The vegetables and meat used are different between the two styles. Because beef was expensive in the past, the use of pork was common in northern and eastern regions. Sukiyaki in Kansai style has a more concentrated sauce, and the dish overall is less "soupy". The Kansai style also takes greater skill and precision because there are higher chances of error, and less leeway for those mistakes to go unnoticed in the final taste and texture.
Besides these two main styles, there are many variations of sukiyaki. It can be made with different types of meat, such as chicken (tori-suki), fish (uo-suki or oki-suki), or even no meat at all for vegans and vegetarians. Different types of noodles can be used, such as shirataki noodles (yam noodles) or udon noodles (udon-suki). A wide variety of vegetables can be used, including leafy vegetables such as napa cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, onion, Tokyo negi (long green onion), carrot, gobo (burdock root), Chinese cabbage, shungiku (garland chrysanthemum leaves), bamboo, and eggplant.
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Frequently asked questions
Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot dish that includes thinly sliced beef, tofu, vegetables, and mushrooms simmered in a sweet and savory broth. It is cooked in a cast-iron pot over a portable stove at the dining table. There is no specific "sukiyaki mushroom" but rather, a variety of mushrooms are used, such as shiitake, enoki, and king oyster mushrooms.
In addition to mushrooms, sukiyaki typically includes thinly sliced beef, tofu, scallions, napa cabbage, and vermicelli noodles. Other vegetables like bamboo, chrysanthemum leaves, and eggplant can also be added.
Sukiyaki is typically cooked in a cast-iron pot over a portable stove at the dining table. The sake, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce are combined and heated first, followed by the addition of meat, vegetables, and other ingredients which are simmered together. Raw eggs are used as a dipping sauce, and steamed rice with black sesame seeds is served on the side.
