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Home ► Recipes ► Japanese (Traditional)

Nikujaga (Meat and Potatoes)

Updated: 07.28.19 | Marc Matsumoto | 34 Comments

4.41 from 5 votes
With beef and potatoes simmered in a sweet soy stock until meltingly tender, Nikujaga (肉じゃが), or "meat potatoes" is Japanese comfort food at its best.
Recipe

If Japan had burly roughnecks and lumberjacks, Nikujaga (肉じゃが) would be their meal. It’s a real work horse of the Japanese home kitchen and quite literally translates to “meat and potatoes”. Being high in energy, low on prep time and very tasty, it’s no surprise why.

Nikujaga is one of those dishes that anyone could wing without a recipe once you know the gist of what it's supposed to taste like. The beef can be anything from ground chuck to short ribs; just make sure you use a cut with enough fat, otherwise the meat will get dried out. As the name implies, you need to add potatoes, but I also like to add carrots and onions for color and flavor. Beyond that you can add pretty much whatever you want.

I usually cook Nikujaga in dashi because it adds umami, but low-sodium beef stock, or even water would work fine. As for the seasonings it's traditionally seasoned with soy sauce, sugar and mirin which gives it a savory sweet taste, but you could have some fun here and season it with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs.

Because there are plenty of potatoes in it, Nikujaga can be served by itself with a frosty beer, but it's also great with rice. Like any stew, this is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day, so make a big batch and enjoy the leftovers for a few days!

📖 Recipe

Nikujaga (Meat and Potatoes)

4.41 from 5 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 55 minutes mins
Yield 4 people

Units

Ingredients 

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 225 grams beef (sliced thin shortribs work great)
  • 1 medium onion (thick slices)
  • 4 small yukon gold potatoes (cut into large chunks)
  • 1 small carrot (cut into large pieces)
  • 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms (stems removed and quartered)
  • ½ cup sake
  • 2 cups dashi stock (low sodium beef stock also works)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 140 grams shirataki noodles (drained and rinsed)
  • 85 grams green beans (trimmed)

Instructions

  • Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, then stir-fry the beef until cooked through. Transfer to a bowl, with tongs or a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the oil in the pot as possible.
  • Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the potatoes, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms and continue stir-frying for about 3 minutes.
  • Add the sake and bring to a boil until you stop smelling alcohol (1-2 minutes). Add the dashi, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and shirataki, and then return the beef to the pot. Simmer, partially covered for 30-40 minutes, or until the meat is tender and the carrots and potatoes are very soft.
  • Add the green beans and cook uncovered until they are cooked through. Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to develop.
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Comments

    4.41 from 5 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Sara Taylor says

    February 11, 2021 at 10:41 am

    I made this exactly as written, and it was everything I hoped it would be! So full of flavor and comfort. Thank you, Marc!

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      February 11, 2021 at 5:04 pm

      I'm glad you enjoyed it Sara! Thanks for letting me know😀

      Reply
  2. Giftz says

    December 30, 2016 at 1:04 am

    Can I use mirin instead of sake? (Religious reasons).

    Reply
  3. Aulia Syifa Rodhiya says

    November 03, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    HiMarc, I made a pot of nikujaga with consomme instead of dashi and no sake. I'm a little bit disappointed because dashi would be great, but then I sprinkled some pepper and nutmeg. It was served with rice, topped with crispy fried shallot.
    So far, no picture taken. The smell alone messed up my brain functions and I forgot to take any picture before I ate 'em all...

    Reply
  4. joannemuriel says

    July 28, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    Dashi is not necessary: sake is.

    Reply
  5. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 23, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Hope you guys enjoyed it:-)

    Reply
  6. Sarah Deadmond says

    July 22, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    Oh my gosh, thank you

    Reply
  7. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 08, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    Hi Solomon, they are both essential ingredients if you want to make this dish. Dash is Japanese soup stock, you can learn more about it and how to make it by clicking the link in the ingredient list.

    Reply
  8. Solomon Sessums says

    July 08, 2015 at 1:06 am

    I don't suppose sake or whatever dashi is are really necessary.

    Reply
  9. Marc Matsumoto says

    October 23, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Hi RedSage, thanks for the note, while you could certainly use a slow cooker, it's a little overkill for this dish. Since it uses thinly sliced beef, it doesn't require much cooking time to get the beef tender. If you cook it for too long, the beef will just disintegrate. If you do decide to use a slow cooker, you may want to cut the beef into larger chunks to avoid that problem. You'll also want to brown the beef and onions over the stove before transferring to the slow cooker (make sure to deglaze the pan first to get all the fond off the bottom of the pan you did the browning in). I hope that helps.

    Reply
  10. RedSage18 says

    October 22, 2013 at 9:58 pm

    Do you have any tips on making it in a slow cooker? Is that even allowed?

    I would love to make this either late at night or early in the morning and then be able to come home to food after a long day of work and classes.

    Reply
    • fasdfa says

      May 10, 2021 at 4:19 am

      I've used other nikujaga recipes in the slow cooker. Use the ingredients above but cook it how long you would a Western stew in the crock pot. If you use thin sliced meat like in this recipe, add it towards the end of cooking, maybe in the last 45-60 minutes. If you use a thick cut, pre cut the meat into bite sized pieces.

      Just make sure the broth covers everything.

      Reply
  11. SamZZZ says

    August 30, 2013 at 7:55 pm

    Great recipe! I made it with low sodium beef stock, 3/4lb of spare ribs and an extra heavy load of shiitakes. Couldn't find shirataki noodles so skipped those. Still turned out amazing!

    Reply
  12. ScarboroughFair says

    July 19, 2013 at 9:24 am

    This is going to be a regular dish at my house. Very easy to put together and i love that it's all root vegetables because at the end of the week that's often all my fridge is left with. Wonderful! Thank you:)

    Reply
  13. Luke LeClair says

    April 15, 2013 at 1:38 am

    Thanks, I made it for my family for dinner, it turned out wonderful even my picky 14 year old brother liked it. I really like your blog, it is really helpful and I will try more recipes and become a better cook.

    Reply
  14. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 14, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    You can use water, or dashi as a substitute.

    Reply
  15. Luke LeClair says

    April 14, 2013 at 6:50 pm

    Is there a non alcoholic substitute I can use instead of sake? I am only 16 and I cannot purchase alcohol until I am 19.

    Reply
    • Euphemia Lee says

      June 14, 2021 at 10:14 am

      You can buy cooking sake/mirin without getting carded. I literally just did so tonight. I mean, I'm old enough to by alcohol anyways, but my point is that they won't card you for it and the prompt doesn't come up for them to do so. So I think you should be good. Many supermarkets that have specific 'Asian' sections at least carry mirin.

      Reply
  16. Medina-Jaye says

    April 12, 2013 at 9:57 am

    Made nikujaga for the first time (id never even tried it before) using this recipe for the whole family & they all loved it! Thankyou very much!

    Reply
  17. Medina-Jaye says

    April 12, 2013 at 5:57 am

    Made nikujaga for the first time (id never even tried it before) using this recipe for the whole family & they all loved it! Thankyou very much!

    Reply
  18. Guy says

    November 12, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    I know this is wayy too late for you to care, but cooking with alcohol kills the actual alcohol content so if you don't drink (not even wine or beer) like me for either religious or health reasons, you don't have to worry. Heat (provided you have enough exposure through temperature and time) makes alcohol evaporate and leaves literally NO alcohol molecules left in your food/drink/etc.

    Reply
  19. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 03, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    It's going to change the flavor, but you could use beef stock or water.

    Reply
  20. Anisa says

    August 03, 2012 at 9:16 pm

    I don't drink alcohol or use it in my cooking, so I was wondering if there were any non-alcoholic substitutes for the mirin/sake in this dish?

    Reply
  21. Anisa says

    August 03, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    I don't drink alcohol or use it in my cooking, so I was wondering if there were any non-alcoholic substitutes for the mirin/sake in this dish?

    Reply
  22. Marilia says

    June 27, 2012 at 4:13 am

    I just made this, albeit with somewhat different ratios of ingredients and the addition of porcini mushrooms, and it is without doubt the single most enjoyable thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. It's so good that the first bite literally gave me chills. It's absurd that anything this simple could taste this divine.

    Reply
  23. Simon @ SoyRiceFire.com says

    May 02, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    I love comforting stew recipes like this one.  Thanks!

    Reply
  24. Thomas Abraham says

    April 29, 2012 at 5:52 am

    I'll definitely try this! I'm lucky enough to have watched my mom make nikudaikon and write down all the ingredients (she never had recipes). It's very similar, thinly sliced rib-eye, chunks of daikon & shirataki. The daikon becomes so sweet & tender cooking it this way. Thanks again for a great recipe!

    Reply
  25. Marilia says

    April 29, 2012 at 1:52 am

    I'll definitely try this! I'm lucky enough to have watched my mom make nikudaikon and write down all the ingredients (she never had recipes). It's very similar, thinly sliced rib-eye, chunks of daikon & shirataki. The daikon becomes so sweet & tender cooking it this way. Thanks again for a great recipe!

    Reply
  26. Jude says

    December 24, 2008 at 2:58 am

    Love this stuff... Japanese comfort food, light, and simple.

    Reply
  27. Marc Matsumoto says

    December 22, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    Manggy, LOL point well taken:-)

    Kevin, makes for a nice donburi.

    Lorraine, it's so easy to make at home, give it a go sometime:-)

    Thanks Megan, I used thinly sliced endcuts of ribeye (it's the little bits and pieces they trim off to shape the steak). You could use any well marbled cuts of beef though, just make sure it's cut thinly against the grain.

    Reply
  28. Megan says

    December 22, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    This looks amazing - I love beef stew and am always looking for something new...what cut of beef did you use?

    Reply
  29. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says

    December 21, 2008 at 10:57 pm

    That looks delicious! I remember having Niku Jaga while in Japan but it didn't look this good - great photos!

    Reply
  30. Kevin (Closet Cooking) says

    December 21, 2008 at 11:46 am

    Simple and tasty! I did not even think about serving it on rice. I will have to try it next time.

    Reply
  31. manggy says

    December 21, 2008 at 7:20 am

    There are no cowboys in Japan?! Who's taking care of all the Kobe and Wagyu beef? Hee hee 🙂 Mmm, I can just taste that sweet-salty-umami sauce now...

    Reply
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