Sukiyaki, beef and sake

Sukiyaki. That simmered nabe (Japanese hot pot) used to be my favorite Japanese dish before I came to Japan. Well, maybe that was the only thing I knew. It’s true that it travels well, it’s easy to adapt and you can’t get it wrong.

It’s meat based. The beef is cut very thinly. It’s good to have fat for the flavor. Not a big amount is needed, as there are all the other ingredients. Maybe 70 g per person.

A egg yolk to dip the cooked meat and making it feel like velvet in your mouth.

For the sauce, shoyu (soy sauce) and nihonshu (Japanese sake). That doesn’t need to be a great sake, I refill the nice bottles. I’ve added mirin too.

Veggies : konnyaku, carrot, shiso, hakusai (napa cabbage), shungiku (chrysanthemum greens)… What I had in stock.

Everything ready for the nabe dinner…

another sukiyaki + recipe

Gyoza miso nabe (relax hot pot). Step 1 : display.

A cool… no hot nabe Japanese hotpot with ginger flavored chicken gyoza dumplings. A meal to cook directly on the table and relax longly, and enjoy season food. It’s very popular for parties and all gathering, but you can start at one. Preparing takes less time than reading this post.

gas + donabe

Material :
-a stove you can place on your table. They make convenient and cheap gas ones (in any Chinatown). I also have a small induction one. A brasero is too slow for a big pot, but for one or two, that works.
-a nabe (pot). That can be any thick bottom pot. There are beautiful ones in black cast iron (kuro tetsu), or in pottery (donabe). It’s better to use one that seems too small than too big for the number of guests. The goal is to cook progressively and eat immediately each bite, so you want to cook in many small batches.
-a pot with hot water not far away

A bit of dashi kombu, the seaweed. That’s the base for the broth.

Chunky koji miso. How much ? I’d say a good spoonful per person for a full meal. Then that depends if you like your food salty.
Some mochi. It’s the full season as we are so close to New Year. I had square kiri-mochi. We can buy any size here. They sell thinly cuts ready for hot pots, but slicing yours is not difficult. I slice some, I keep some whole for the final.
Dumpling skins that you can make yourself. I bought them this time. Well, some buy the gyoza ready, but that’s not funny.
DIY gyoza

For the filling : ground chicken meat and diced fresh ginger. That’s all. The ground meat could go bad if it stayed too long unrefrigerated, so take it from the fridge at the last minute. If you are many, bring one a bowl and refill later as you go.

Season veggies that you like.
The greens of hakusai (napa cabbage). Bean sprouts. And yukikesho kabocha, sliced finely, if possible. The rind of kabocha is edible.

That’s ready. Jump to step 2 (here).