This sukiyaki recipe makes it so easy to cook Japanese food at home. Sukiyaki is a type of Japanese hot pot that consists of thinly sliced beef and veggies simmered in a soy sauce based broth. Although usually cooked and served from a cast iron pot on the dining table, you can easily make this in a skillet on the stovetop. All the ingredients get cooked at once in only one pot, making for easy cooking and cleanup. Serve with rice for an easy Japanese family meal! *Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.
What is Sukiyaki?
It’s almost November here in Seattle, and as the weather gets colder and colder, hot pot is always on my mind. For those who aren’t familiar with it, a hot pot dish is an Asian meal that is boiled all in one pot, usually cooked and served right on the dining table. There are variations of hot pots among different Asian countries, but some of my favorites are Japanese hot pots.
Yes, you’ve read that right, hot pots, PLURAL.
Japan actually has several different styles of hot pot, including shabu shabu, oden, and my favorite, sukiyaki. Sukiyaki is a style of Japanese hot pot in which the ingredients (usually thinly sliced beef, veggies, and noodles) are cooked in a soy sauce flavored broth. Because the broth is so flavorful, you eat the food served over rice without adding anything after it’s cooked. This is different from shabu shabu, which consists of ingredients cooked in a clear broth and then dipped in flavorful sauces afterward.
Even in Japan, you can get variation on sukiyaki. For example, the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, has their own version which differs from the Kansai region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto. The funny thing about being a fourth generation Japanese American is that most of us don’t really know what region our food comes from (or if it’s even truly a Japanese dish vs. Japanese American). So I can’t tell you if my version of sukiyaki is Kanto-style or Kansai-style or some other style, but it’s delicious nonetheless.
Sukiyaki in Japan also traditionally gets served with a side bowl of beaten raw egg. After the ingredients are cooked, you dip them in the raw egg prior to eating. In America, this isn’t done so often, as raw eggs aren’t considered safe to eat here. However, I have eaten sukiyaki this way in Japan! If you have the chance to get raw, pasteurized eggs, give it a try.
Sukiyaki Sauce Ingredients
The key feature of sukiyaki is the sukiyaki sauce. All the flavor of sukiyaki is in the soy sauce broth. The great thing is, this sukiyaki broth recipe is so easy, you can memorize it. AND it uses basic Japanese pantry staples that you’ll use again and again in Japanese cooking. You’ll need:
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 cups dashi (or 2 cups water plus 1 tsp dashi powder)
I know most people are okay with sugar and soy sauce in their pantry, but people often ask about substituting the sake or the mirin. If you are getting interested in Japanese cooking at home, I highly recommend you invest the kitchen space in stocking these Japanese essentials. The sugar, mirin, sake, soy sauce combination is almost exactly the same as my teriyaki sauce recipe (coming soon to the blog). You also use these sauces in classic Japanese dishes like oyakodon and ozoni.
Dashi, a Japanese kelp or fish based broth, is another ingredient that tends to trip people up. Unfortunately, you really cannot omit or substitute dashi in Japanese cooking. Well respected Japanese cooking blogs and traditional recipes you find online will tell you to make dashi from scratch.
But I’m here to tell you THERE IS NO SHAME IN INSTANT DASHI POWDER.
Just as the name implies, you sprinkle about a teaspoon of dashi powder into hot water, and voila! Instant dashi. Of course making your broth from scratch surely tastes better, just like making chicken broth from scratch tastes better than store bought. But not everyone has the time or energy for that. Besides, why would Japanese markets sell dashi powder if Japanese people didn’t use it, hm?
Anyway, you can find all of these ingredients at a Japanese market and usually other Asian markets as well. If not, there’s always Amazon. I’ll link the dashi powder, mirin, sake, and soy sauce here. Please note these are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you make purchases from them, at no cost to you.
What Ingredients to Cook for Sukiyaki?
Typically, the main protein in sukiyaki is thinly sliced beef. You can find thin sliced beef at your local Asian market. You’ll also commonly find vegetables such as cabbage, onion, carrot, and enoki or shiitake mushrooms, as well as tofu. Another common ingredient to cook in sukiyaki is some sort of noodle, like udon or perhaps shirataki.
However, I’m here to tell you that I’m all about Japanese HOME cooking. That means you are not bound by any arbitrary culinary rules or tradition. Sukiyaki is great for using up leftovers in your fridge! For me, sometimes that means throwing in seafood, even though traditionally you’re more likely to find seafood in other Japanese hot pot dishes, like nabe or oden.
Guess what? It’s okay. I’m not the Japanese food police. And if you have friends who like to think they are, then don’t invite them over for dinner. It’s their loss.
That being said, here are some ideas that you can use to inspire your sukiyaki night:
Proteins for Sukiyaki
- Sliced beef (Most essential)
- Sliced pork
- Cubed Tofu
- Shrimp
- Fish balls
- Gyoza
Vegetables for Sukiyaki
- Napa cabbage
- Green cabbage
- Spinach
- Enoki mushrooms
- Shiitake mushroom
- Aburaage
- Deep fried tofu cubes
- Sliced onions
- Bok choy
- Carrot
- Daikon
- Lotus root
- Green onion
- Chrysanthemum leaves
Noodles for Sukiyaki
- Udon noodles
- Shirataki noodles
- Vermicelli noodles
How to Serve Sukiyaki
Although typically, like many hot pots, sukiyaki ingredients would all be boiled in the pot right on the dining table, don’t feel bound by this rule. I often make my sukiyaki on the stovetop in a 10-12 inch stainless steel skillet with deep sides. When it’s done, I let my family come choose what they want from the stove and pile it on top of their rice. But if you have an electric hot pot or bunsen burner, it could be fun to cook your sukiyaki in the middle of your dining table, letting your guests pick out food as they eat. I always serve my sukiyaki with rice, but sometimes my husband opts out, eating just the udon noodles for his carbs.
All in all, the world is your sukiyaki pot. Have fun and enjoy!
By the way, if you like watching cooking videos, you can check out my Tik Tok of me making sukiyaki here:
Easy Homemade Sukiyaki
Ingredients
For Sukiyaki Broth
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp dashi powder
For Sukiyaki Ingredients
- 1 lb thinly sliced beef
- 1/4 head napa cabbage chopped
- 1/4 onion sliced
- 1/2 block tofu cubed
- 2 medium carrots sliced
- 4-5 medium shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 pack udon
Instructions
- In a 10-12 inch skillet with deep sides, combined sugar, sake, mirin, and soy sauce.
- Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes to boil off the alcohol.
- Add 2 cups of water and 1 tsp dashi powder. Bring back to a simmer.
- Add in all sukiyaki ingredients in order of cook time from longest to shortest. For example, add in the carrots and let simmer for 5 minutes before adding in cabbage. Then a few minutes later add the onions, mushroom, and tofu.
- Add in udon and finally the beef last, so as not to overcook them.
- Serve immediately over white rice.