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Nikujaga served with rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki, cucumber salad, and strawberries.

Nikujaga (Japanese Meat and Potato Stew)

Yoko Segawa
Nikujaga is a Japanese meat and potato stew and an ultimate cozy Japanese comfort food. Potatoes, carrots, and onions are simmered until tender in a sweet-savory soy sauce dashi broth with thinly sliced beef or pork to create a nostalgic family dinner staple. It's an easy one-pot simmer recipe ready in under 30 minutes with simple everyday ingredients.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 servings
Calories 463 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ lb. sliced beef or shaved steak you can also use sliced pork, cut into 3-inch pieces
  • 3 yellow potatoes (about 1½ lb) cut into 1.5-inch pieces
  • 1 onion cut into wedges
  • 1 jumbo carrot cut into bite-sized pieces using the rangiri oblique cut
  • 1 bag shirataki (200g, 7.05oz) (optional)
  • 1½ cups dashi or water
  • 6 tablespoons soy sauce
  • ¼ cup mirin
  • ¼ cup sake
  • ¼ cup sugar or maple syrup
  • 5 green beans or snap peas for serving (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. If you’re using green beans, blanch until bright green and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and cut into 1-inch pieces.
  • Drain the bag of shirataki and use kitchen shears to cut them a few times to make them shorter. In the same pot, add shirataki and boil for a few minutes. Drain well.
  • In a large pot or pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the meat and cook until no longer pink. Stir in potatoes, onion, and carrots, and cook for a minute to coat them in the oil.
  • Stir in dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and shirataki. Place an otoshibuta, or drop lid, on top and simmer until potatoes are tender, for 20 minutes, gently stirring from the bottom halfway through. Reduce the heat to low if necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
  • Serve in a serving bowl and top with green beans.

Notes

Please note that the nutritional information provided is just an estimate, and accuracy is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 463kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 19gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 1974mgPotassium: 1074mgFiber: 5gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 3062IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 3mg
Keyword carrots, Japanese ingredients, potatoes, shirataki
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