Cooking with Keiko and Noriko
Lesson 2: Sukiyaki

Brian and I agree this was one of the best meals we've had in our two years in Japan. Of course we couldn't help but enjoy this special meal when, 1) our Japanese friends made it for us, and 2) the meat alone was $30 (i.e., psychologically it "must be good")!

Regardless of the reason, we really enjoyed the sukiyaki Noriko-san and Keiko-san made for us last week. I only hope we can replicate it! Of course, I was too busy socializing and watching to remember to take photos of every stage. Not that it would've helped, since they used a "little bit" of this and a "little bit" of that. But here's my best guess at recording what we did.

(And for the record, sukiyaki is usually made in the winter, not in July. It is also supposed to be made at the dining table using a gas burner under a special sukiyaki pan. But after much Japanese debate between Keiko and Noriko--presumably about the authenticity of the resultant sukiyaki--we improvised and made it on my gas stove and brought it to the table. Sacrilege? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely.)

Here's what you need:

• 1 pound of sukiyaki beef (tenderloin thinly sliced)
• 1 piece of beef suet (usually comes with the sukiyaki meat)
• about 3 long onions (similar to leeks)
• 1/4 of a head of Chinese cabbage
• 1 package of shirataki (jelly-like noodles made from starch of a vegetable root called "devil's tongue)
• 1 package of shitake mushrooms
• 1 block of grilled tofu (can use regular, but it may fall apart during cooking)
• about 1/2 cup soy sauce
• about 1/2 cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
• water
• about 4 to 5 tablespoons of sugar
• raw egg for dipping
• 1 package fresh udon noodles

1. Prepare all ingredients before beginning. Cut long onion into diagonal 2-inch slices. Cut off stems of mushrooms and make a criss-cross incision on the tops of each mushroom. Cut shirataki noodles into 3-4 inch lengths. Cut cabbage into small pieces, slicing the stem portion very thinly so it cooks evenly.







Cut grilled tofu into bite-size pieces.

2. Heat pan. Place beef suet in the pan and cook until half-melted.

3. Add some beef, spreading the thin slices. When beef begins to turn brown, add about an equal amount of soy sauce and mirin, a little water, and about 4 to 5 tablespoons of sugar. The liquid in pan should be about 1/4 inch deep at all times.

(I started to reach for the cabinet to get the sugar bowl while asking how much sugar we needed. Keiko laughed and said we needed "big sugar." She wasn't kidding, so I pulled out the canister of sugar. Now I see why most Japanese desserts aren't very sweet; dinner has enough sugar!)

4. Then add some vegetables, shirataki, and tofu and let simmer a few minutes. As the ingredients are cooked, remove them from the pan. Dip the cooked food in a raw whisked egg before eating. (Alternatively, Noriko's husband likes to make a well within the sukiyaki vegetables and adds the egg to poach in the sukiyaki liquid).

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all ingredients are cooked. After meat and vegetables are eaten (or removed from pan if saving for leftovers), add fresh udon noodles to the remaining sauce in the pan, cook, and enjoy!