Beef Sukiyaki

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20min

Cooking time: _

Difficulty: Easy

Directions

• 550g prime boneless beef, rump or sirloin, cut into paper-thin slices
• 8 fresh shitake or other large flat mushrooms, wiped
• 2 thin leeks, washed and trimmed
• 1 onion, peeled
• 1200g tofu
• 120g spinach or Chinese cabbage, washed and trimmed
• Beef suet
• 4 eggs (optional)

Sauce

• 150ml Mirin
• 150ml Sake
• 150ml soy sauce
• 300ml Dashi
• 25g sugar

Preparation

1. Beef: Semi-freeze beef until it is firm and slice it very finely across the grain. Cut it into 2.5cm strips.
2. Mushrooms: Cut off and discard the mushroom stalks; notch a decorative cross in each mushroom cap.
3. Leeks: Cut the leeks on the diagonal into 4cm chunks.
4. Onion: Cut the onion into chunks.
5. Shirataki noodles: Parboil the Shirataki for 1-2 minutes and drain.
6. Tofu: Cut the tofu into 4cm cubes.
7. Spinach: Leave spinach leaves whole. Cut Chinese cabbage into quarters, then across into slices.
8. Lay out the beef slices and vegetables on a large platter.

Sauce

1. Put the Mirin and Sake in a small saucepan and boil for 2 minutes to reduce the alcohol.
2. Add the soy sauce, Dashi and sugar and bring the sauce just to the boil to dissolve the sugar.
3. Pour the completed sauce into a jug.

To assemble

1. Set up Sukiyaki pan or frying pan on a burner in the centre of the table.
2. Over medium heat, thoroughly grease the sides and bottom of the pan with suet.
3. Put a few slices of beef in to the pan to start off the cooking and quickly sear both sides, turning them with chopsticks.
4. As soon as the meat changes colour, pour in some sauce.
5. Provide each person with a small bowl for dipping and an egg, which the break into the bowl.
6. When the meat is cooked, remove it, dip it in egg and eat it. The egg cooks on to the hot food and adds to the richness of the flavour.
7. Put in some vegetables, adding the harder vegetables - leeks, onion, Chinese cabbage if used - first.
8. Then switch back to the meat and follow this with more vegetables - mushrooms, Shirataki and tofu.
9. Spinach needs the least cooking time and is always added last.
10. Top up the sauce as you go along and continue to cook meat and vegetables alternatively. Be careful not to let the meat or vegetables overcook.