Nikujaga (Japanese Beef Potato Onion Soy-Sweet Stew)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 45 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Thin slices of beef, potatoes, onion, carrot, and shirataki noodles simmer in dashi sweetened with mirin and sugar and seasoned with soy sauce, a combination many Japanese people tie to home cooking.
Read more
One story traces it to a Meiji-era naval officer trying to recreate British beef stew with Japanese ingredients, which would explain why the result is a clear soy braise rather than a thick, flour-bound stew.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
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.
- 2
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.
- 3
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.
- 4
Pour in the remaining dashi from the measured 400 ml after the 2 tablespoons used earlier, along with 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.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
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