What We’re Eating: Sukiyaki

Short and to the point- this is a super easy version of sukiyaki that I initially learned from my mother-in-law and then added a simple dipping sauce to it.  Ponzu sauce, garlic sauce, or other dipping sauces would also be good with this.  Whatever floats your boat, as they say!  🙂

Start off with a nice selection of cut up veggies (I used baby bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, and cubed firm tofu), thin sliced ribeye (or chicken or whatever meat you prefer), and sliced kamaboko (fish cake).

Cooked right to order at the table on a portable burner (sorry for the wonky photo.  Bah.)

A Tsai family favorite.

Especially when the noodles were thrown in at the end and cooked in the yummy broth.

Easy Sukiyaki
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups water
1 lb thinly sliced beef, chicken, or pork
1 package kamaboko (fish cake), sliced
6-8 napa cabbage leaves, cut up
3-4 baby bok choy, cut up
handful of spinach leaves, cut up
1/2 block of firm tofu, cubed
1-2 packages ramen or udon noodles

Sukiyaki Sauce
3/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 cup sake
1 cup mirin
4 Tbsp sugar

Directions
1.   Combine all the ingredients for the sukiyaki sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil until the sugar is dissolved.  Set aside.

2.   Pour the chicken broth and water into a medium pot on the portable burner over medium high heat.  Pour in half of the sukiyaki sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a low simmer.  Pour the remaining sukiyaki sauce into small dipping bowls.  Bring the meat and veggies to the table.

3.   When ready to eat, increase heat to return the broth to boiling, add in a few pieces of meat, cook for 2-3 minutes until no longer pink and remove from the pot into bowls.  Add in some shiitake mushrooms, tofu, veggies, and cook for a few minutes then add to the bowls.  The shiitake mushrooms take longer to cook than the other veggies will.  Add some broth to the bowls.

4.   Begin eating, dipping meat and veggies in the sauce.  Continue cooking the ingredients a few at a time while everyone is enjoying the sukiyaki.  When everything is about cooked, add in the noodles (but not the little packets) to cook for a few minutes and add to everyone’s bowls to eat at the end.  Enjoy!

Printable recipe