I’ve written about Nikujaga (肉じゃが), or “meat and potatoes” before, it’s one of my favorite Japanese comfort foods and it’s super easy to make. I recently stumbled across a way to make it even easier and tastier. A definite win-win!
The traditional way to make nikujaga is to simmer beef, potatoes, onions and carrots in dashi, a type of Japanese soup stock. It gives the dish the signature Japanese flavor with an intense umami and a mild smoky flavor from the dried bonito. While making dashi isn’t hard, it does require some extra time. In this version, I’ve replaced the dashi with some extra sake and tomatoes: Tomato Nikujaga (トマト肉じゃが)!
Yes, I know it sounds kind of crazy given how little tomatoes are used in Japanese cuisine, but both sake and tomatoes are loaded with glutamic acids, which gives this preparation an incredible amount of umami. As an added bonus, the tomatoes impart a mild sweetness and acidity that’s a great counterpoint to the savory meat and creamy potatoes.
Tips to make it better:
By stir-frying the sugar with the beef, it helps the beef brown, while giving the braising liquid an earthy caramel flavor that goes beautifully with the potatoes. For the potatoes, although it’s purely cosmetic, you can help keep the potatoes from crumbling by using a peeler or paring knife to bevel the cut edges so there are no hard edges on the pieces of potato. Like most stews, this one is always better the second day. If you decide to make this ahead and let it rest overnight, save the snap peas and add them in when you reheat the Nikujaga.
Units
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 300 grams beef (sliced thinly)
- 360 grams potatoes (8 small , peeled and cut in half)
- 230 grams tomatoes (2 medium , cut into wedges)
- 220 grams onion (1 small , sliced)
- 200 grams shirataki noodles (drained, rinsed , chopped)
- 170 grams carrots (1 large carrot, cut into large pieces)
- 1 cup sake
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 80 grams snap peas (trimmed & sliced in half)
Instructions
- Heat a pan large enough for all of the ingredients over medium high-heat until hot. Add the oil and sugar and swirl to coat. Add the beef and stir-fry until the beef is mostly cooked.
- Add the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, shirataki noodles, carrots, sake, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.
- Partially cover with a lid and turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the vegetables and meat are tender (about 50 minutes)
- Add the snap peas and cover and steam until they are bright green.
jllaing says
What is the best sake and soy sauce to cook with? Thank you
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi jllaing, for sake I have the same rule as wine. You don’t need anything fancy as most of the finer nuances (or rough edges) will boil off during cooking. That said, you don’t want to use “cooking sake” or anything else that has other ingredients added such as salt and preservatives. The rule is that I never cook with anything I would not drink. As for soy sauce, it really depends on what you’re cooking. In this case, I used Kikkoman.
jllaing says
I asked about soy sauce because I read, recently, about the different kinds of soy sauce…I had no idea how different they are and how they should be used. Thank you for your reply!
bizdouglas says
I don’t usually do this kind of thing, especially if i’m trying to learn a traditional recipe but i strayed a bit from your recipe and the results were mouthwateringly delicious. I didn’t have some of the ingredients and i did have some extra stuff around i needed to use so using your techniques with the sugar and sliced beef, i modified it by adding garlic, fish sauce, mirin, dried ramen noodles, some thick slices of cabbage on top, and some whole red and yellow baby bell peppers on top as well. One of the best meals i’ve had in quite a while. I was beside myself. Thanks for introducing me to this absolutely fantastic combination of flavors and technique Marc! Wish you could have been there to try my bastardized version!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi bizdouglas, glad to hear you enjoyed it. Your variations sounds interesting and kind of reminds me of the Korean dish Budae Jjigae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budae_jjigae) It’s an everything but the kitchen sink kind of hotpot where all the odds and ends go in.
bizdouglas says
Thanks for the Reply Marc. Funny, I made Budae Jigae once, i think i used angel hair pasta and deer meat slim jims with the rest of the usual ingredients.. lol. So good. I really like how you chopped the carrots in this, and the tomato, potato, sugar, beef and sugar snap is such a delicious combination, it’s obvious why this is a staple. It didn’t need modifying but it was so good i was happy with the results. Thanks for your great recipes. Any chance you could do more offal recipes?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi bizdouglas, ?”deer meat slim jims”???? that’s awesome! As for offal recipes, unless you’re a restaurant willing to buy a ton of it, it’s hard to get here in Japan (or even in the US for that matter).
bizdouglas says
Oh wow, i didn’t realize you lived there but i had imagined the opposite. I think it’s becoming easier to find here, at least in some areas. In Florida we can get veal intestine at some walmarts, beef kidneys, hearts, sweetbreads and honeycomb tripe(the book tripe is the best that i know of and that is hard to find around here) almost anywhere(sometimes you have to special order, but it’s still relatively easy), and obviously livers of all kinds and gizzards and such with no problem. Would be cool if i could find lung, spleen, other animal intestines and other weird stuff more easily though.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi bizdouglas, wow that’s amazing. I remember when I lived in NYC, I had to go to Latin American groceries to get honeycomb tripe and Chinese butchers to get omosa. Even then they were always bleached (I think it’s a USDA requirement) which made them taste like a swimming pool. In Japan we have shops that specialize in offal, but aside from chitlins and chicken offal, it’s hard to get the funky bits from other animals.
Justine says
Hi Marc, what’s cut of beef would you recommend? I’ve used those thinly sliced ones for hot pot before and the beef turned out too dry. Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Justine, something with a good deal of fat marbled into it, or connective tissue works best. If you can have your butcher slice short ribs (without the bones) thinly that would be ideal. You can also partially freeze(so that it’s a little firm, but still flexible) the meat which will make it easier to slice thinly at home with a sharp knife.