Sachiko's mom's cooking is the stuff of legends at OC. When Sachiko lived in the States, she constantly yearned for some good old-fashioned Japanese home cooking, and made everyone around her drool with descriptions of her mom's curry (#1 in Japan!) and hot pot dishes. So when I went to stay with Sachiko's family in Tokyo, for an eight-day homestay, I knew I was in for a major treat as I would be the first person at OC to try this storied home cooking! To share my good fortune, I took tons of pictures and wrote down the recipes to share with you! Today's recipe is for sukiyaki, a traditional winter hot pot dish that is still super popular, and now I see why—it's incredibly delicious and warming on a cold Tokyo night. Stay tuned for the curry recipe!
Ingredients:
½ pkt of firm tofu, cut in 1" squares, lightly pan-fried
1 pkt konnyaku (or konjac) noodles
½ lb. thinly sliced beef
1 cup nappa cabbage chopped into roughly 1-2" x 4" rectangles
5-6 small or medium sized shiitake mushrooms
2-3 handfuls of enoki mushrooms (way more if you're obsessed with mushrooms, like Sachiko)
4-5 pieces of 1.5" long scallion from the base of the plant
1 handful of garland chrysanthemum leaves, or shungiku
1 tsp lard
12 oz sukiyaki sauce
2 eggs (1 per person)
Makes 2-3 servings![]()
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To start, put a dab of lard in a large thick shabu-shabu style pot and put it on the stovetop on medium.
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Once the lard melts, toss the slices of beef until they're brown.
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Take the beef out and set aside. Add the sukiyaki sauce to the pot and turn the heat to medium high.![]()
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Now it's veggie time. Put them in one by one, starting with the slowest cookers. First, the nappa cabbage goes in, and gets a minute to get mixed in with the sauce.![]()
Then add in the konnyaku noodles, followed by the shiitake mushrooms. Give these guys a minute to soak up the sauce.![]()
Then add the tofu...
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... and the enoki mushrooms.
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After another minute, add the scallions. They'll cook super fast.![]()
Now, turn the heat down to a little under medium and add the beef back in.
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Add the chrysanthemum leaves (which don't need to cook at all, so it's safe to leave them on top).![]()
The last step is to take the pot to the table and
Ingredients:
½ pkt of firm tofu, cut in 1" squares, lightly pan-fried
1 pkt konnyaku (or konjac) noodles
½ lb. thinly sliced beef
1 cup nappa cabbage chopped into roughly 1-2" x 4" rectangles
5-6 small or medium sized shiitake mushrooms
2-3 handfuls of enoki mushrooms (way more if you're obsessed with mushrooms, like Sachiko)
4-5 pieces of 1.5" long scallion from the base of the plant
1 handful of garland chrysanthemum leaves, or shungiku
1 tsp lard
12 oz sukiyaki sauce
2 eggs (1 per person)
Makes 2-3 servings
To start, put a dab of lard in a large thick shabu-shabu style pot and put it on the stovetop on medium.
Once the lard melts, toss the slices of beef until they're brown.
Take the beef out and set aside. Add the sukiyaki sauce to the pot and turn the heat to medium high.
Now it's veggie time. Put them in one by one, starting with the slowest cookers. First, the nappa cabbage goes in, and gets a minute to get mixed in with the sauce.
Then add in the konnyaku noodles, followed by the shiitake mushrooms. Give these guys a minute to soak up the sauce.
Then add the tofu...
... and the enoki mushrooms.
After another minute, add the scallions. They'll cook super fast.
Now, turn the heat down to a little under medium and add the beef back in.
Add the chrysanthemum leaves (which don't need to cook at all, so it's safe to leave them on top).
The last step is to take the pot to the table and