Vegan Nikujaga

"Niku"jaga Without Meat?

Nikujaga is a stew that's typically made with thin cuts of beef simmered together with onions, potatoes, and carrots in a savory-sweet dashi broth. In this Vegan Nikujaga, we're replacing the "niku", or meat, with a delicious duo of mushrooms that add a meaty taste and texture to this Japanese classic.

The History of Nikujaga

Like it's sibling Japanese Curry Rice, Nikujaga was created to feed a large number of hungry troops. It's precisely the kind of dish you'd imagine getting if you asked a Navy cook to make a Japanese version of Western beef stew, and that's supposedly how it was created. The troops brought a taste for the dish home with them, and Nikujaga has since become one of the most popular home-cooked meals in Japan.

How do I Make Nikujaga Vegan?

Two main substitutions need to happen to make Nikujaga vegan. The most obvious one is the meat. If you break down the role of the meat in this dish, it does three things. 1) It adds umami and flavor to the broth and other ingredients 2) It contributes a meaty texture and protein to the dish 3) It adds fat to the dish, which is what lends richness and body to the stew. Nailing all three of these with one plant-based ingredient would be pretty tough, but by using a combination of two mushrooms along with a little extra oil, I was able to get close. 

Meaty Mushrooms

Maitake mushrooms, which are sometimes called "Hen of the Woods," is a feathery mushroom with a bold meaty flavor that adds boatloads of umami to any dish it's added to. It's also one of the best plant-based sources of Vitamin D.
Eryngi mushrooms, which are also known as "King Trumpet," although they don't have much going on in the flavor department, they have a thick fibrous stem that allows them to mimic all sorts of meat and seafood depending on how they're sliced. For Nikujaga, I like to cut them into very thin slices lengthwise, which gives them a substantial meaty texture. 

Healthy Fats

Finally, I've doubled the amount of oil I'd typically use to make this dish. This may sound like an unhealthy change, but there are a few reasons for this. The first is that it gets the taste of the dish of this vegan nikujaga closer to the original by adding a little richness to the broth. Unlike Western stews, which are often made with a roux, Nikujaga is made with clear dashi stock, so without some fat, it can seem thin and watery. The mushrooms also tend to absorb oil like a sponge at first, so without enough oil in the pan, they won't brown evenly. If that's not enough to convince you, consider this: Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so to get the best absorption of this essential vitamin, it's important to pair it with some fat. 

Plant-Based Protein

The only thing lacking in this vegan nikujaga is a significant source of protein (both mushrooms and potatoes contain some protein), so if you want more protein, you can add tofu to this dish as well. 

Vegan Dashi

There's one other change we need to make to make this dish plant-based, which is the dashi. Dashi stock is typically made with konbu (kelp) along with dried, smoked, and fermented skipjack tuna. While it doesn't have quite as much flavor, it's perfectly okay to make dashi with just konbu, which is known as konbu dashi. Kelp is loaded with naturally occurring glutamic acids, which are amino acids that trigger the umami taste receptors on your tongue. 

Konbu is produced all over Japan, but there's a region in northeastern Hokkaido called Rausu that produces a very meaty tasting konbu that's excellent for making plant-based dashi.

📖 Recipe

Vegan Nikujaga

By: Marc Matsumoto

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Yield 4 servings

Units

Grams + US CupsUS Standard

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 7 grams konbu
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup sake
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons evaporated cane sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 400 grams potatoes (6 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)
• 200 grams carrots (1 large peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 220 grams onion (1 small onion, peeled and sliced)
• 100 grams Maitake mushrooms (hand-shredded)
• 200 grams Eryngi mushrooms (large mushrooms thinly sliced)
• 226 grams shirataki noodles (drained and roughly chopped)
• 80 grams snap peas (trimmed)

Instructions

Step PhotosNo Photos

• To make the dashi stock, add the 7 grams konbu, 1 cup water, ½ cup sake, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons evaporated cane sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt to a bowl and let the konbu rehydrate while you prepare the other ingredients.
  
• Put the 400 grams potatoes and 200 grams carrots in a microwave-safe bowl along with a tablespoon of water. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and then microwave at 800 watts for 4 minutes.
  
• Heat a pot over high heat until hot and then add the 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 220 grams onion, 100 grams Maitake mushrooms, and 200 grams Eryngi mushrooms mushrooms and stir-fry until the mushrooms just start to brown.
  
• Add the dashi stock, along with the konbu and then add the microwaved potatoes and carrots, as well as the 226 grams shirataki noodles and give the mixture a stir to combine.
  
• Cover with a drop lid and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender (about 10 minutes). Gently stir the mixture together about halfway through cooking to ensure they're getting some time in the dashi.
  
• Ideally, you want to cover the pot with a lid and let the nikujaga cool to room temperature once, which encourages the dashi stock to permeate every ingredient. If you don't have time, proceed to the next step.
  
• Reheat the nikujaga before serving and steam the 80 grams snap peas on top of the other ingredients for about 1 minute covered with a lid.
  

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Nutrition Facts

Calories • 247kcalCarbohydrates • 39gProtein • 8gFat • 4gSaturated Fat • 1gPolyunsaturated Fat • 2gMonounsaturated Fat • 1gTrans Fat • 0.02gSodium • 858mgPotassium • 1045mgFiber • 7gSugar • 10gVitamin A • 8612IUVitamin C • 39mgCalcium • 60mgIron • 3mg

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