Japanese Beef Sukiyaki (Traditional Sauce From Scratch)

Warishita sauce needs some to soak (about 30 minutes) so it’s more time efficient to make it first.

The first step is to cook the mirin and sake in a small saucepan to burn off the alcohol.

Heat it on medium and allow it to bubble for 1-2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and then add the soy sauce, light brown sugar and water. Stir over the low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Once the sugar has dissolved, add a piece of kombu (dried kelp) and leave it to soak at room temperature for around 30 minutes or until the kombu has rehydrated. This will add extra depth and umami to your warishita!

While the kombu is soaking you can prepare the rest of your ingredients.

The initial presentation is important for sukiyaki. If possible, you should try to purchase high-quality thinly sliced beef that is especially for sukiyaki. You might be able to find it at Japanese specialty stores.

If you cannot buy the beef already finely sliced, you can try cutting it yourself. You will need to place a block of beef in the freezer until firm (not frozen) and then use a sharp knife to cut it as thinly as possible.

The vegetables and tofu should also be cut with presentation in mind.

Here is a breakdown of how I cut my vegetables, but this is just a suggestion and you can cut them however you like.

• Shiitake mushrooms – Stems removed and a star pattern cut on top.
• Napa cabbage (hakusai) – Roughly cut into squares/rectangles.
• Spring onion – Diagonally sliced.
• Tofu – Cut into squares or rectangles.
• Enoki mushrooms – In a bunch with roots removed.
• Carrots – Sliced and cut with a shaped cutter (you can purchase decorative vegetable cutters here on Amazon).
• Crown daisy (shungiku) – Stems trimmed.

Once everything is cut, you can display it on the table to impress your guests!

Cooking sukiyaki is simple! Start by heating your iron pot on medium heat and rubbing the surface with beef fat.

Once the pot is greased, add the spring onions and char the surface.

Once charred, push the spring onion to one side and add the sauce, vegetables and tofu (except for the crown daisy). Bring the sauce to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer once it’s bubbling.

Next, add the beef. You might have to move the vegetables around a little so that the meat comes into contact with the sauce.

Turn the tofu over and add the crown daisy.

Allow to simmer without a lid until the beef and vegetables are cooked to your liking.

The thinly sliced meat only takes a few minutes, but the vegetables can take 5-15 minutes.

As the meat and vegetables cook, distribute them between each person. Different ingredients will be ready at different times, so you need to keep watch and take them out as the cook to avoid overcooking.

You can top up the pot with more raw ingredients as you remove and eat the cooked ingredients.

Suppose you’re serving a lot of people. In that case, I recommend dividing the meat into batches and cooking them with a little time in between so that you can enjoy the meat for the duration of the meal (rather than eating only vegetables towards the end).

It’s common to give each person a serving bowl and a raw egg to whisk and use for dipping. It’s important to use pasteurized eggs for this to avoid food-borne illnesses.

If you can, I highly recommend trying sukiyaki with raw egg, but this is optional.

You can also eat sukiyaki with rice.

If you still have warishita sauce left in your pot, then don’t waste it! You can add pre-cooked udon noodles to the sauce for the final part of the meal.

Make sure to use noodles that have already been cooked and washed to avoid making the sauce thick and starchy.