Recently I have had this weird obsession with bento boxes. Being Japanese I am somehow drawn to these types of things - such as Hello Kitty and gadgets. My obsession with bentos ended up with me now the proud owner of 2 really cool ones. Then the obvious issue is what to fill the boxes with. This issue led me to the current post.

Sukiyaki from Wikipedia:

Sukiyaki (Japanese: 鋤焼 or more commonly すき焼き; スキヤキ) is a Japanese dish in the nabemono (Japanese steamboat) style.

It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef), or a vegetarian version made only with firm tofu, slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.

Generally sukiyaki is a dish for the colder days of the year and it is commonly found at bōnenkai, Japanese year-end parties.

This is a dish that old mama Fujie usually busts out for special occasions in casa de Robesky. The tableside element of it adds to the sense of adventure.

I recently purchased an induction cooker in Hong Kong, this in and of itself being a completely Asian purchase.

So how do you make sukiyaki?

Step 1 - chop up the ingredients

Step 2 - the table

Step 3 - throw it all together

Step 4 - eat

The recipe - adapted from Mama Fujie’s and another one found online

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound thinly sliced beef
A handful of shirataki noodles (made from yam cakes) or cellophane noodles
7-8 shiitake mushrooms
1 block enoki mushrooms
1 medium negi (green onion for those whitey’s)
1/2 Chinese cabbage
1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu) / Fujie says: fresh Tofuji Tofu (not grilled)

For sukiyaki sauce:

1/3 cup soy sauce / 3 tbsps sake (Japanese rice wine) / 5 tbsps sugar / 3/4 cup water
Fresh ginger
1 garlic clove

For dipping: 4 eggs

Cut all ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Arrange all ingredients on a large plate and place the plate at the table. Mix soy sauce, sake, sugar, and water to make sukiyaki sauce. Set an electric pan or a skillet at the table.

After this point, everything is done at the table as you eat. Heat a little oil in the pan. Fry some beef slices, then pour 1/2 the sukiyaki sauce in the pan. Add other ingredients when the sauce starts to boil. Simmer until all ingredients are softened. Dip the cooked sukiyaki into the raw, beaten eggs and begin to eat.

Enjoy!!!