Japanese beef & potato stew


Japanese beef & potato stew



Nothing goes better with Sunday than stew.  It’s quick, it’s easy, it makes the house smell like heaven all day, and it lets you feel industrious, even if you’re just sitting around.

These days, my favorite stew to make is Niku Jaga, which is a homestyle Japanese beef & potato stew.  Before we moved to Brooklyn, Ace* lived in the Lower East Side, on Suffolk Street, across from the most adorable restaurant in the world, which is where we went about three times a week to get our Niku Jaga fix.

Overall, we weren’t really too crushed about trading in the LES for Boerum Hill (much as we loved wading through teeming crowds of 18-year-olds while dodging puddles of puke and lurching drunkards on any given night).

But we were very sad to leave Soy behind, especially because it didn’t occur to us that Niku Jaga was something we could actually make, like in our own home.

Well, turns out it is.  It contains about four ingredients, and it’s delicious.  Unlike Western stews, which are typically pretty liquid-y, the point of this stew is to cook down the liquid until the beef is tender and the potatoes become all golden and saturated and glazed with the sweet, salty sauce.

The trick is to slice the beef super-thin.  If you’re fortunate enough to have access to a Japanese market, look for “sukiyaki beef”, which you can get pre-sliced.  I’ve asked the meat guy at the grocery store to thinly slice ribeye for me, and I’ve also just bought a whole roast, plunked it in the freezer for forty minutes or so, and then thinly sliced it myself.

The recipe I use seems to change a bit every time, based on trial and error.  It originated as an amalgam of about four recipes I found online with a Google search.  Here it is:
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • tsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 large Spanish onion
  • 5 carrots
  • 4-6 Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 5 oz thinly sliced beef
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp white wine (or sake if you have it)
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 1/2 cup green peas (optional)
Saute the onion, garlic and ginger in oil, then add the beef.  When beef is brown, add the potatoes and carrots, saute for a minute or two, then throw in the stock and water (note: real niku jaga is made with dashi, not chicken stock, so for a more authentic flavor you might want to go that route).  

Bring to a boil, then add sugar and wine.  Wait a few minutes, then add mirin and soysauce.  Lower heat and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until liquid is mostly reduced and potatoes are soft, golden and glazed with sauce (if using peas, add them in the last 10 minutes or so).

The stew’s traditionally served with white rice, and that’s how we eat it.  I’d like to learn how to make pickled daikon to serve on top and add a bit of crunchy tang (which is how they serve it at Soy).  Didn’t have time today, but maybe next time…


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