How to Make Sukiyaki (Japanese Beef Hot Pot)

Sukiyaki is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and possibly the dish that everyone knows or has heard about. It's very simple to make, but there are certain things to remember for the best results. Sukiyaki is all about the sauce. Make sure to get the measurements right and you'll always come up with the perfect sukiyaki sauce.

Beef is the second most important thing in a good sukiyaki. They must be thinly sliced and have enough marbling on them for this dish. Find well-marbled meat so that the fat of the meat becomes tender when you eat it. Otherwise, You'll ened up with chewy pieces of meat. 

The thickness of the meats are paper thin. Japanese supermarkets sell these paper-thin meat in packages.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1 package shirataki
1 bunch shungiku
1 stalk negi
6 shiitake mushrooms
1 block grilled tofu
very thin slices of beef 

raw eggs

DIRECTIONS:

To make the sukiyaki sauce, combine sake and mirin in a saucepan. Bring to a boil until the alcohol has evaporated. Add in soy sauce and sugar and mix until sugar has dissolved. If you have instant konbu dashi, add a pinch to it for additional umami flavor. Set the sauce to the side.

Now it's time to prepare the ingredients for the sukiyaki. First let's boil the shirataki for a couple of minutes to get rid of any smell. Drain well and cut into bite-sized pieces. Next cut the Shungiku into 2-3 inches. Next, slice the negi diagonally into 2 inch pieces. Cut off the stems of the shiitake mushrooms and cut into the top. This not only makes it look beautiful, but it also helps the shiitake cook faster. Cut grilled tofu into small blocks. 

Crack a fresh egg into a small bowl and whisk well. 

Grease your sukiyaki pan ( or skillet ) and cook two pieces of green onion until fragrant. Take them out and cook a couple of slices of beef. Add in a little bit of sukiyaki sauce and cook until the beef is just done. Dip the beef in the raw egg and enjoy. 

Next, add in a couple of more slices of beef and the rest of the ingredients along with more sukiyaki sauce. You never want to overcook the beef, so add in the beef slices only when you want to eat the beef. 


A great way to end the meal is with udon noodles. Once you're done with the sukiyaki, dump store-bought udon noodles into the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

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