Niku Dofu Beef and Tofu Simmer

Quick answer

Total time: 40 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients: 10

About this dish

Niku dofu is a Kyoto winter home dish centered on tofu, briefly simmering thin beef and Kujo negi in a sweet soy-seasoned stock.

Kyoto's soft water, low in mineral taste, is considered well suited to making delicate clean-flavored tofu. Kujo negi, sometimes praised as the king of leaf onions, brings mucilage inside its leaves, strong sweetness, and fragrance. Kyoto also has a long beef culture, from early records of Tamba cattle to sukiyaki restaurants established in the early Meiji era. The thin beef is first passed briefly through boiling water to reduce foam and excess fat, simmered with tofu for ten minutes, and finished with Kujo negi only at the end. The result preserves the tofu's shape and the onion's fresh sweetness.

Ingredients (3 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
thin sukiyaki beef	200	g
firm cotton tofu	160	g
Kujo negi	200	g
kombu bonito stock	500	ml
sake	15	ml
sugar	8	g
soy sauce	30	ml
mirin	5	ml
salt	2	g
ichimi chile powder	1	g

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

5 steps

1

Prep

Wrap 160g firm tofu in paper towels and drain 10 minutes, then cut into 6 pieces about 4cm.

Cut both white and green parts of 200g Kujo negi into 5cm lengths.
2

Heat

Boil water in a separate pan and pass 200g thin beef through in four batches for 10 seconds each.

When the surface turns gray, drain in a clean colander and keep raw-meat and blanched-meat tongs separate.
3

Control

Bring 500ml stock to a boil in a wide pan and add 15ml sake, 8g sugar, blanched beef, and tofu.

Fit a paper drop lid and simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes.
4

Control

Add 30ml soy sauce and 5ml mirin around the pan edge, lower heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Do not turn tofu; gently shake the pan twice to distribute seasoning and confirm beef reaches at least 74°C.
5

Finish

Add Kujo negi and cook only 2 minutes until slightly wilted and sweet.

Adjust with up to 2g salt, divide into 3 bowls, and serve 1g ichimi separately for sprinkling.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Thin beef and firm tofu at the center
Finish cue: Add Kujo negi and cook only 2 minutes until slightly wilted and sweet.
Avoid this: Do not wash it away; cook only the final two minutes.