{"id":2247,"date":"2020-09-19T19:17:44","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T23:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabfoodflavors.com\/?p=2247"},"modified":"2020-09-29T23:00:14","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T03:00:14","slug":"japanese-nikujaga-meat-and-potatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabfoodflavors.com\/japanese-nikujaga-meat-and-potatoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Nikujaga: The Best Meat And Potatoes Comfort Dish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I was constantly craving for comfort food when sheltering at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the dishes that I found myself making again and again is the Japanese Nikujaga Meat and Potatoes stew. It’s a hearty dish beef and potatoes dish, but it isn’t greasy nor does it sit on your stomach heavily. Nikujaga (\u8089\u3058\u3083\u304c) literally translate to “Meat Potatoes” – I love the balance of this particular meat and vegetables dish. The ingredient are simmered in a delicious dashi based broth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is a dashi broth? It is one of the most commonly used flavors within Japanese cuisine that imparts the “umami” taste. The best English equivalent word is savory. Dashi is typically made up of ingredients like Kombu kelp seaweed, katsuobushi bonito fish flakes, dried shiitake mushrooms, and dried sardines, strained together to make dashi, essentially a liquid form of umami! For convenience, I am using instant dashi for this recipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about Dashi here from one of my favorite sites =>https:\/\/www.seriouseats.com\/2017\/03\/dashi-japanese-stock.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was reading that the key for a successful nikujaga is not to overwhelm the dish with too much meat. Essentially the meat is used to flavor the veggies, to give it a satisfying balance. Meaty enough, yet not too much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recipe was adapted from the popular Just One Cookbook by Nami san. She has a very clear and easy to follow style, which I appreciate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ingredients for Japanese Nikujaga<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1 large onion
3 large carrot
4 potatoes
1 lb thinly sliced beef chuck or rib eye
1 pack shirataki noodles
10 pieces sugar snap peas
1 Tbs vegetable oil
3 cup dashi
6 Tbs mirin
6 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs sake
2 Tbs sugar (adjust to suit taste)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to that, you will need a large pot to cook the nikujaga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preparing the ingredients for Japanese Nikujaga<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start by gathering all the ingredients. Next, put a pot of water to boil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingredients<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Then, make instant dashi stock (or prepared home made stock).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next, prepare the ingredients. Start by remove strings from sugar snap peas. Set aside. Then, remove shirataki noodles from package, rinse and drain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shirataki<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When the water is boiling, lightly blanch the sugar peas for 30 seconds and take them out. You want to retain their bright green color and not overcook them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lightly<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Then, using the same water, cook the shirataki noodles for 1 minute. Drain the water and cut the noodles in half. Set aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cooking<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next, cut the onion into wedges. Then, peel and cut the carrot lengthwise in half and chop into rolling wedges. This method is called rangiri<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cutting
Cutting carrots using the “rangiri” method<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next, cut the potatoes into quarters and smooth the edges. If the pieces have sharp edges then they are likely to break into pieces during the cooking process from bumping into each other. This Japanese cutting technique is called mentori<\/em>. Then, soak the potatoes in water to remove starch.
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