Nikujaga (Japanese Beef Potato Onion Soy-Sweet Stew)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 45 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Nikujaga is a Japanese home-cooked stew often described as the dish that defines a mother's cooking in Japan.
Read more
Thinly sliced beef, potatoes, onion, carrot, and shirataki noodles are simmered in a broth of dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. The dish traces its origins to the Meiji era, when a Japanese naval officer attempted to recreate British beef stew using local ingredients -- resulting in a clear, soy-based braise rather than a thick, flour-bound stew. The potatoes absorb the seasoned liquid until soft at the edges but still holding shape, while shirataki noodles soak up flavor and add a springy contrast.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Cut the 4 potatoes into large bite-size chunks so they hold their shape.
Cut the onion and carrot into similar bite-size pieces, then loosen the 100 g shirataki noodles so they mix evenly later.
- 2Control
Heat 2 tablespoons from the measured dashi in a pot over medium heat.
Add 200g thinly sliced beef, separate overlapping slices, and cook only until the red color disappears from the outside.
- 3Heat
Add the potatoes, onion, and carrot, then stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
When the vegetables look lightly coated and the onion turns slightly translucent at the edges, add the shirataki noodles.
- 4Control
Pour in 400 ml dashi stock, 3 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons mirin.
Stir once to dissolve the sugar, then bring the liquid to a steady simmer.
- 5Control
Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and simmer gently for around 15 minutes.
Stop when the potato edges are tender and the centers are cooked, before the pieces begin to break apart.
- 6Finish
Turn off the heat and let the stew stand for about 5 minutes so the seasoning settles into the ingredients.
Keep the broth clear, check that the potatoes and shirataki taste seasoned, then serve.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Nikujaga combines beef and potatoes simmered in a dashi-soy-mirin broth for a homey stew.
- Finish cue
- Stop when the potato edges are tender and the centers are cooked, before the pieces begin to break apart.
- Avoid this
- Do not overcook or the potatoes will dissolve into the stew.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
45min, 9 ingredients
Category median
48min, 8 ingredients
Based on 247 recipes
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