Foodie Friday: Sukiyaki

    I was mulling over whether I would continue posting food posts on Friday. Then as I was looking through my regular day-to-day pictures, I realized... I love food. Plus, it's my absolute favorite season (which coincidentally has the best food). I wanted to make this specific dish since it's a colder weather type food. It just makes me feel all autumn-ish. :) According to my parents, there's a retro song that has something to do with it, but I have no idea. Anyways, we made this on the dining table with a mini portable gas stove. But, you can make it on the regular stove top if you like. Also, you can add anything (I added carrots) or take out anything in the recipe that you don't like.I used this sauce instead of making my own. For the people located on Okinawa, you can easily buy the sukiyaki sauce at Jusco or San-A. Enjoy!

Sukiyaki (recipe via japanesefood.about.com

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb thinly sliced beef, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 package shirataki noodles (made from yam cakes) or cellophane noodles, washed and drained, cut into 3 inch lengths
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 enoki mushroom, trimmed
• 1 negi or leek, washed and sliced into 2 inch lengths
• 1/2 Chinese cabbage, washed and cut into 2 inch wide pieces
• 1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), washed and cut into 2 inch lengths *if available
• For sukiyaki sauce:
• 1/3 cup soy sauce / 3 Tbsp sake / 5 Tbsp sugar / 3/4 cup water
• For dipping: 4 pasteurized eggs *optional

Preparation:

Arrange ingredients on a large plate and place the plate on the table. Mix soy sauce, sake, sugar, and water to make sukiyaki sauce. Set an electric pan or a skillet on the table. *After this point, cooking is done at the table as you eat. Heat a little oil in the pan. Fry some beef slices, then pour sukiyaki sauce in the pan. Add other ingredients when the sauce starts to boil. Simmer until all ingredients are softened. It's ready to eat. Dip the cooked sukiyaki into the raw, beaten eggs if you would like. As the liquid is reduced, add more sukiyaki sauce or hot water.