NIKUJAGA - JAPANESE STYLE POTATO AND BEEF STEW RECIPE

Nikujaga was one of my favourite Japanese dishes when I first moved to Japan as it reminded me a little of an Irish stew at home. This traditional Japanese stew has a sweet and salty flavour. It can be too sweet for some people so it might be best to add less sugar to the recipe and then add more at the end if you think the dish needs it. My Japanese friends tell me that Japanese people don't crave sugary desserts after their meals because sugar is added to most of their savoury dishes.

I've taken this recipe from one of my favourite Japanese chefs "Harumi Kunihara". Harumi has written several cookbooks in English and this particular recipe was taken from her book "Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking".

Thinly sliced beef is usually used for this recipe however sometimes I use steak mince instead as my little boy finds this easier to eat. Also I like to add a tablespoon of grated ginger to give a little kick to the dish and also enhance the nutritional value.

INGREDIENTS:

11/3 cups of potatoes (about 3 medium size potatoes)
1 large onion
Half lb (230g) finely sliced beef or steak mince meat
1 tablespoon of finely grated fresh ginger (optional)
1 tablespoon sunflower or vegetable oil (for frying)
2 cups (about 500ml) dashi stock/ light fish stock  (to make instant dashi stock add 1 tsp of instant dashi granules to 500ml of water)
1/3 cup (80ml) soy sauce
3 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
2 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon sake

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel the potatoes and chop them evenly as you would for roast potatoes. Soak in water for 5-6 minutes to remove any excess starch, then drain. 
2. Cut the onion into 6 wedge-shape pieces, then chop the beef into bite size pieces. 
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Stir-fry the potatoes, add the onions and beef and cook for a few minutes. Add the grated ginger at this stage if you are using it.
4. Add the dashi stock, soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake to the saucepan and simmer. Skim the surface and then place a wooden drop lid (or a circular piece of greaseproof paper slightly smaller than the saucepan with a hole in the center to allow steam to escape) on top. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked. 
5. Taste before serving. If you want a richer flavour, add some soy sauce and extra sugar. Serve in bowls.  

TIPS: 
- Like all one pot dishes this dish tastes even better the next day
- Carrots and daikon go really well in this recipe also.
   

Japanese Teriyaki Recipe: Mince meat and aubergine in a teriyaki sauce

There are many variations of teriyaki sauce. This is a nice recipe to start off with and then you can adjust the proportions of the basic ingredients for the teriyaki sauce (soya sauce, mirin, sake and sugar) to adapt to your personal taste. 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large garlic cloves (finely chopped)

2 inches ginger root (finely chopped)

1 lb mince meat

2 large aubergine (cut into large square pieces)

8 tbsp soya sauce

4 tbsp mirin

4 tbsp sake

3 tsp caster sugar

Pickled ginger to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a minute or so (do not brown the garlic and ginger).
3. Add the minced meat and stir using a wooden spoon to help break up the mince meat. Let it cook until the meat is nearly cooked (do not cook the meat fully or it may become dry).
4. Add the aubergine pieces and stir into the mince meat using the wooden spoon.
5. Mix the soya sauce, mirin, sake and caster sugar in a small bowl. 
6. Pour the mixture over the mince meat and aubergine and stir well cooking under high heat for a few minutes, then let it simmer until the aubergines are nice and tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

How to eat:
Serve with a bowl of Japanese white rice. Sometimes I serve this dish with iceberg lettuce leaves (eat it like a wrap). This is not a traditional Japanese way of eating this dish but I find it handy if I don't have time to prepare rice or if I just fancy a change!

Tips:

1. Add less sugar if you prefer the dish less sweet
2. If you have time you could soak the aubergine pieces in a bowl of water before adding to the dish to get rid of the bitterness of the aubergine. 

Why not:

Try adding other vegetables that go really well with this teriyaki sauce. These include green peas, edamame (soya beans), carrots, mushrooms, broccoli etc.