Sukiyaki Recipe (Kansai style)

Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki Recipe  (4 people)

Ingredients

• 300g Beef, thinly sliced
• 200g Tofu (Regular tofu or grilled tofu, not Silken)
• 2-5   Negi (Shallots or scallions)
• 8     Shiitake mushrooms (I use dried shiitake, soaked in hot water)
• 1/2 a Hakusai (Chinese Cabbage)  I used about 6 large leaves.
• 200g Moyashi (bean sprouts)
• a bunch of Shungiku (Spring Chrisanthemum leaves)  And/or Spinach. 
• 1 package Ito-Konnyaku (Konnyaku noodles, also called Shirataki)
• +/- a package of Udon noodles (to use at the end)

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1/3 cup Japanese Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp sake
• 3/4 cup water

• A bowl of steamed rice for each person
• A raw egg in a small bowl for each person

How to Make Sukiyaki:

1.  Prepare ingredients and place on a large platter:

Tofu: slice into 1 inch cubes

Negi: slice diagonally 2 inches

Shiitake: stem removed, halved if big

Hakusai: Slice leaves down the centre, then into 2-3 inch lengths

Shungiku: Fill a bowl with water in the sink.  Submerge shungiku, dunking well. (this also freshens them) cut into 3-4 inch lengths

Mother's My Sukiyaki Nabe

2.  Place cooking equipment on the table.  Set out egg bowls and rice bowls and chopsticks for each person.  Each person whisks their egg with chopsticks and waits in anticipation.

3.  Pour about a Tbsp oil in the heated pan (Med heat).  Add half the beef and stir-fry until browned a little.  Sprinkle sugar on it, pour on soy sauce and sake.  Add water to the pan.

4.  Add vegetables, tofu and ito-konnyaku, each in their own position in the pan.  Keep it tidy. 

5.  Allow to cook for 1-2 min and then dig in!  When most of the ingredients are gone, add more of each ingredient, pushing the cooked ingredients to one side (still keeping it tidy).  When the sauce becomes low, add some more sugar, soy sauce and water, keeping the taste balanced. (Don't let it boil dry!)  Last of all, add the udon noodles.

♡　♡　♡

Baby boy loves the ito-konnyaku, udon, beef and hakusai in Sukiyaki

Yesterday we had so much fun having a little Sukiyaki lunch party at my friend's place.

I bet you've heard of Sukiyaki.  

Most non-Japanese I've asked don't seem to know what real sukiyaki is.

Sukiyaki is my favorite of my mother's cooking.

It's very healthy, with lots of green leafy vegetables, mushrooms etc.

And so much fun!

The cooking sauce for Sukiyaki is just shoyu (Japanese Soy Sauce) and sugar, 

+/- a dash of sake.  But it's the flavours of the beef, negi, shiitake and shungiku that combine to make the rich and unique sukiyaki flavour.  

Sukiyaki is cooked on the table in a cast iron sukiyaki pan over a gas flame, or a frypan or skillet.  My mother often uses an electric frypan recently.)  Everyone sits around the table from the start of the cooking and in a minute or two they can start eating, picking something from the pan with their chopsticks, dipping it in their small bowl of raw egg, and eating.  Then going back for more.  

Oh, did I say raw egg?  Ah, yes.  That's the other essential part of the sukiyaki flavour (however some of my friends think eating it without the egg is fine).  

If at first raw egg sounds strange, just think of egg-nog or soft-boiled egg and you realize it's rather normal.  The flavour, when combined with the flavours of the sukiyaki, is really amazing.

The beef, negi, and tofu are pretty essential, but some of the other ingredients can be omitted if you can't get them.  

Please watch the videos to get a feel for Sukiyaki.  

There are several ways to make Sukiyaki, depending on what part of Japan you're from (and how your mama made it).  This is Kansai Style.  My Mother oils the pan using a chunk of fat cut from the beef (and then throws it away).

  

I'm sorry about the camera shake, especially at the beginning of the video...next month I'll be getting a tripod. Yay!  ...And next time I'll shoot in HD.  (This time I used my friend's camera because my memory card was full)

Video: Cooking Sukiyaki (steps 3-4)

Video: 20 min later...

After 50 min of Mama conversation...

...we might do this as a regular thing...
\(^o^)/
oh yeah, we do...
here's another recipe for Sukiyaki with Wagyu and Kinoko-rui