Featured Comment:
“Perfect recipe…I changed from beef to tuna and it works well too! Highly recommended.”
– Martin
What is Japanese-style Beef Stew?
When you hear the term beef stew in Japanese cuisine, it may bring to mind the notion of Nikujaga (meat and potato stew) or Hayashi Rice. Certainly, both can also be called beef stew when translated into English, but the dish we Japanese call Beef Stew (ビーフシチュー) is completely different.
It is said that beef stew was initially introduced from England in the early Meiji Era (1868-1912), shortly after Japan opened up its borders to the outside world. Over time, it became a staple of Yoshoku (Western-inspired Japanese) cuisine and took on its current form.
It is often made with demi-glace sauce and served with baguette instead of rice. Furthermore, there is another Yoshoku dish known as Cream Stew, which is distinguishable by its very different color and use of chicken instead of beef.
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Beef: I used a combination of round and sinew. Round adds a meaty texture, and sinew deepens the stew’s flavor. But feel free to use any beef cut you usually choose for stews!
- Unsalted Butter: I always opt for unsalted butter to have better control of the salt content. If you prefer salted butter, just cut back on other salty ingredients to balance the taste.
- Vegetables: A combination of yellow onion, canned tomato, carrot, and button mushrooms adds a lovely variety of flavors and textures to the dish.
- Potherbs & Aromatics: Simple yet effective – garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary.
- Red Wine: The tannins in red wine improve the meat’s flavor and eliminate odors, I recommend an inexpensive Pinot noir, Merlot or Cabernet sauvignon. Since red wine is a significant ingredient in this recipe, it can’t be substituted. If you want to avoid adding alcohol to your cooking, opt for a non-alcoholic red wine instead.
- Condiments & Seasonings: A blend of honey, tomato ketchup, grated apple, Worcestershire sauce, miso paste, dark chocolate, salt, and pepper to create a complex yet harmonious flavor profile.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Japanese-style Beef Stew at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
The secret to delicious caramelized onions is patience.
Start by thinly slicing the onion. Then, in a pan with a bit of oil, cook them over low heat for about 30 minutes.
They’ll slowly turn wonderfully sweet and golden. If they start to stick, a splash of water does the trick.
This is a time-consuming process, so move on to other preparations while the onions are frying, making sure to mix them occasionally and add water if necessary.
For the beef, I just chop it into bite-sized cubes. This is flexible, so go with what feels suitable for you.
Then, season the beef with salt and pepper and give it a light dusting of flour. It’s a small step but it makes a big difference in the stew’s texture.
Next up, melt some unsalted butter in a pan over medium heat.
Add the beef and brown it. The beef doesn’t need to be fully cooked; just aim for a nice sear on each side.
Using a deep pan here helps later on, as you can use the same pan to make the entire stew.
Once the beef is browned, add red wine, water, canned tomatoes, bay leaves, rosemary, and your caramelized onions.
Bring this to a boil, then lower the heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
After simmering, turn off the heat and let the stew rest for an hour.
This waiting period is key – it allows the flavors to meld beautifully.
For the final flourish, remove the rosemary and reheat the stew, bringing it to a boil.
Then, lower the heat and add grated garlic, carrots, mushrooms, honey, ketchup, grated apple, Worcestershire sauce, miso paste, and dark chocolate.
Let this simmer with the lid slightly ajar for another hour, stirring occasionally.
This blend of ingredients might sound unusual, but trust me, it creates a rich, complex flavor that’s absolutely worth it.
After 1 hour, give the stew a final taste test and season to preference using salt and pepper.
Serve with warm baguette and enjoy!
How to Store
If you intend to consume beef stew within two days, you can keep it in the refrigerator. If you plan to store it for three days or more, freezing is the best option.
Never store beef stew at room temperature.
To refrigerate beef stew, remove it from heat, place it in an airtight container, and store it in the refrigerator.
Beef stew can be stored in the freezer using the same method but with a caveat. Carrots lose their texture significantly when frozen, so consuming them before freezing is better.
Storage summary
Room temperature – Not recommended.
Refrigerated – 2-3 days.
Frozen – Up to a month (carrots removed).
FAQ
Beef stew is a common dish and many countries have their own approach to the recipe. Japanese yoshoku dishes often rely on the flavors of tomatoes, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, amongst other condiments, to create a “Western-style” taste unique to Japan. I also include miso paste in my recipe for a touch of Japanese flavor.
Nikujaga is also a type of meat stew (made with either pork or beef), however, nikujaga relies on local ingredients typically used in Japanese cuisine (dashi, soy sauce, mirin etc) giving it a very “Japanese” flavor. On the other hand, this Japanese beef stew relies on common imported ingredients from Europe to create a “Western” flavor using tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, red wine and herbs instead.
I hope you enjoy this Japanese-style Beef Stew recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Yoshoku Recipes
- Cream Stew (with Chicken)
- Hambāgu (Hamburger steak with homemade sauce)
- Hayashi Rice (Hashed Beef with Garlic Butter Rice)
- Omurice (Chicken and Ketchup Rice Wrapped in Omelette)
Japanese Style Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 200 g onion thinly sliced
- 400 g stewing beef (round)
- 100 g beef tendon (sinew)
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 300 g canned tomato (diced)
- 300 ml red wine
- 300 ml water
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 150 g carrot peeled and roughly cut
- 100 g button mushroom thinly sliced
- ½ tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp grated apple
- 1 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase)
- 10 g dark chocolate
- warm baguette
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan on medium and add 1 tbsp cooking oil. Once hot, add 200 g onion (thinly sliced) and fry for about 10 minutes or until soft and golden. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Reduce heat to low and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cook on low for 20-30 minutes or until dark brown and caramelized. Stir occasionally and add water 1 tbsp at a time to prevent sticking. Once caramelized, remove from the heat.
- While you're waiting for the caramelized onions, take 400 g stewing beef and 100 g beef tendon (sinew) cut into bitesize pieces and place them in a bowl with 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
- Add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and mix until evenly coated.
- Heat a deep pan or pot on medium and add 1 tbsp butter. Once melted, and the beef and sear on all sides.
- Once seared, add the caramelized onions along with 2 cloves garlic, 2 dried bay leaves, 300 g canned tomato, 300 ml red wine, 300 ml water and mix. Place 2 sprigs fresh rosemary on top.
- Place a lid on top and bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and rest for 1 hour to allow the flavor to develop.
- Once the resting time is up, remove the rosemary, then add 150 g carrot and 100 g button mushroom. Turn the heat back on and bring to boil. When it starts to bubble, add ½ tbsp honey, 2 tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp grated apple, 1 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase) and 10 g dark chocolate.
- Simmer for 1 hour with the lid slightly ajar. Check the taste at the end and season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
- Serve with a few slices of warm baguette and enjoy!
Perfect recipe…I changed from beef to tuna and it works well too! Highly recommended.
Hi Martin,
Thank you for the feedback and sharing your experience!
I’m very happy that you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Yuto
Thank you for your inspirations and fantastic recipes…today I made a japanese menue with your cucumber pickles, rice, miso soup and the miso glaced salmon!!! Wonderful!!…by the way if you change the stew to tuna you start with cooking the tuna very short and then make the sauce etc… and nearly at the end 5 minutes before the sauce is ready you place the tuna in the sauce;). It works well.
Hi Martin,
Thank you for making these recipes and sharing a picture! I’m so happy that you liked them all!
Thank you for sharing your tips as well! 🙂
Yuto
It’s just the beginning. Thank ou so much.
This is a great recipe and fun to make!
In case you wanted to fix it, I noticed you wrote “seal the beef” by mistake, when you actually meant to write “sear the beef”!
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for the comment! That’s right, thank you for letting me know! 🙂
I will make an edit.
Yuto