Japanese
Sukiyaki
Kansai-style sukiyaki with marbled beef, grilled tofu, vegetables, shirataki, and a precisely balanced soy-sugar warishita.
4 servings · 35 minutes prep · 25 minutes cook
Ingredients
Warishita
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce
- 1/2 cup dashi
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
Hot Pot
- 1 1/2 lb well-marbled ribeye or strip steak, sliced across the grain 1/8 inch thick
- 1 package firm momen tofu, about 14 oz
- 7 oz shirataki noodles
- 8 oz Tokyo negi or leeks, white and pale green parts cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps decoratively scored
- 5 oz enoki mushrooms, root end trimmed and separated into small bundles
- 1 lb napa cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 6 oz shungiku, tough stem ends removed
- 1 tbsp beef tallow or avocado oil
- 4 pasteurized large eggs, each lightly beaten in an individual serving bowl
Directions
Make the Warishita
- Combine the sake and mirin in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute. Add the soy sauce, dashi, and sugar; stir just until the sugar dissolves. Remove the warishita from the heat.
Prepare the Hot-Pot Ingredients
- Drain the tofu, wrap it in clean towels, and press under a light weight for 15 minutes. Cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, pat dry, and sear in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned on two broad sides, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the shirataki. Boil in unsalted water for 2 minutes, drain well, and cut into manageable lengths. Arrange the tofu, noodles, negi, mushrooms, cabbage, shungiku, and beef separately on platters.
Cook and Serve at the Table
- Set a wide cast-iron sukiyaki pan or shallow skillet over a portable burner at the table, with long tongs beside the cook. Melt the beef tallow over medium heat and sear several pieces of negi until fragrant and browned, about 2 minutes.
- Using the tongs, add about one-third of the beef in a single layer and sear briefly on both sides. Pour in 1 cup warishita and tuck in one-third each of the tofu, shirataki, shiitake, enoki, and napa cabbage, keeping the shirataki away from the beef. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook only until the vegetables are tender and the beef reaches {{temperature:145°F}}, 3 to 5 minutes. Add a small portion of shungiku for the final minute.
- Each diner should transfer cooked morsels to the individual bowl of beaten pasteurized egg, let the beef rest for 3 minutes, then eat. Replenish the pan in small batches with the remaining ingredients and warishita, adding the beef and shungiku last each time so neither overcooks. Keep the liquid at a gentle simmer and dilute with a splash of dashi only if it becomes overly concentrated.
