← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 250 g very thinly sliced beef (ribeye or chuck, with some fat)
• ½ large onion, cut into 1 cm wedges
• 200 ml Dashi powder or stock
• 2 tbsp Sake
• 2 tbsp Mirin
• 3 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated (optional)
• 180 g Japanese short-grain rice, cooked, kept hot
• 1 Spring onion, finely sliced
• pickled red ginger (beni shoga), to serve

Method

1. Put the dashi, sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and ginger in a frying pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and simmer for 4–5 min, until soft and slightly see-through.
3. Spread the beef slices into the sauce, separating them with chopsticks. Simmer for 2–3 min, skimming off any foam, until the beef is just cooked and no longer pink.
4. Let it bubble for another 1–2 min so the sauce reduces a little and soaks into the onion.
5. Pile the beef and onion over bowls of hot rice and spoon over some sauce. Top with spring onion and pickled ginger.

Tips

• Half-freezing a steak for 30–40 minutes makes it firm enough to slice paper-thin.
• A soft-poached or raw pasteurised egg yolk on top is the classic extra.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook RecipeTin Japan Japanese Cooking 101