Japanese Beef Sukiyaki (Traditional Sauce From Scratch)

Sukiyaki Sauce (warishita)

Add 3 tbsp mirin and 3 tbsp sake to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp light brown sugar and 3 tbsp water. Stir over the heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Place 5 g dried kelp (kombu) in the sauce and leave to soak at room temperature for about 30 minutes (or until the kombu has rehydrated).

Sukiyaki

While the kombu is soaking, cut your ingredients and arrange them on plates. Cut the vegetables as follows;
• 150 g firm tofu - large squares or rectangles
• 2 leaves Napa cabbage - rough squares• Shitake mushrooms - trim the stalk and make a star pattern on the top using diagonal cuts
• 60 g enoki mushroom(s) - cut off the roots
• 70 g carrot(s) - peel and slice about 1cm thick, use a cutter to make flowers etc (optional)
• 90 g Japanese leeks (naganegi) - cut diagonally into 5-6cm pieces
• 4 fresh shiitake mushroom(s) - make decorative incisions.
Once the sauce is ready, heat a wide, shallow iron pot over a medium heat and coat evenly with 1 tbsp beef fat or lard.
After the fat is melted and the pot is hot, add the leek and cook until slightly charred.
When the leeks are lightly browned, push them to one side and add the sauce, tofu and vegetables (except the crown daisy). Bring the sauce to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.
Make some space between the ingredients and add 250 g thinly sliced beef so that it's in contact with the sauce.
Turn the tofu and add 150 g chrysanthemum greens (shungiku) to the pot.
Simmer without a lid until the beef and vegetables are cooked to your liking. (Approximately 5-15 minutes depending on the ingredient.)
As each ingredient cooks, remove it from the pot and distribute between each person. Top up with more ingredients as you go.
Give each person a bowl and a raw pasteurised egg. Each person should crack the egg into the bowl and whisk thoroughly before using it to dip the cooked sukiyaki ingredients. (optional)
Once all of the ingredients are eaten, enjoy the last of the sauce by adding some cooked udon noodles.
Enjoy!