Our Family's Sukiyaki
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound thinly sliced shabu-shabu beef
  • 1 chicken breast (or 2 chicken thighs), cut into bite sized pieces
  • ⅓ nappa cabbage, cut into large pieces
  • 1 package itokonnyaku (yam noodles)
  • Tofu, cubed (I always buy soft, but medium-firm tofu doesn't break as easily)
  • Shungiku (crown daisy)
  • 8 - 10 Shiitake mushrooms, cut in half
  • 8 - 10 Button mushrooms, cut in half
  • 1 brown onion, sliced
  • 2 negi (green onions), sliced diagonally in large pieces
  • ½ bag of moyashi (bean sprouts)
  • 1 package frozen udon noodles, boiled and rinsed
  • Canola oil to coat pan
  • Raw egg for dipping sukiyaki (optional)
  • FOR SUKIYAKI SIMMERING SAUCE:
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
  • 4 tablespoons sake
  • 6 - 8 tablespoons sugar, to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine simmering sauce ingredients.  I combine all the ingredients in a large measuring cup for ease of use and clean-up.  Stir the ingredients well so that the sugar slightly dissolves.
  2. Boil 1 package of udon noodles for 3 minutes. (I buy frozen udon noodles that come in packs of 5.  I found that the frozen udon noodles have better texture than the refrigerated udon.)  Rinse the noodles in cold water and set aside.  The noodles do not need to be cooked all the way as they'll be cooked with the sukiyaki simmering sauce.
  3. In a large pot or iron pan add a small amount of oil and use a brush to coat the entire surface.  On medium-high heat (on the stove), slightly brown the beef and chicken, then remove from the pan.  We use shabu-shabu beef because it is so much more thin and tender than sukiyaki beef, but feel free to experiment.  Next, sauté the brown onions and white parts of the
  4. negi, then the mushrooms.  Move all the onions and mushrooms to the side of the pan to make room for the rest of the ingredients.
  5. Add some of the chicken and beef back into the iron pan, add itokonnyaku , tofu, udon noodles, and nappa cabbage.  Add shungiku.
  6. Pour some of the simmering sauce into the sukiyaki pan and allow the sukiyaki to simmer for about 10 - 12 minutes until the flavor of the simmering sauce is absorbed into the ingredients.  Since our sukiyaki pan is smaller than those found in Japan, I usually add more ingredients as we eat, and cook them on the tabletop stove.  When I add more ingredients, I will add more of the simmering sauce if some of it has evaporated.
  7. When the ingredients are cooked and ready to eat, transfer the iron sukiyaki pan to a portable tabletop stove and dig in, family style!
  8. For a traditional Japanese experience, dip your sukiyaki in high quality, fresh raw egg.
Recipe by Bebe Love Okazu at https://bebeloveokazu.com/2010/06/11/sukiyaki/