This Japanese hot pot recipe, or nabe, are the perfect dish this time of year.  They’re quick, easy, and warm one-pot meals. We’ve been trying to catch up on our unarchived photos and after going through our recent Japan trip photographs. We were craving some Japanese deliciousness, and quick.  What better way, than with some warm, comforting Japanese home food, Nabe, or hot pot. This version we’re sharing today is a Beef Sukiyaki recipe.

Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice
Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice

What is Nabe or Hot Pot?

Nabe is quintessential Japanese home cooking. It’s a one pot dish that simmers different types of meat or vegetables in any combination. The hot pot is usually simmered on top of a portable cooking stove and placed in the middle of the table. The cuts of meat are sliced paper thin and raw. The veggies are cut into smaller pieces, then you will quickly poach the meats in a delicate broth.

This meal is warm comforting, delicious, simple and satisfying. They are the type of dishes which comes from the heart and soul of the Japanese. Shabu-shabu is one form of nabe, but there is so much more to Japanese hot pots than shabu-shabu. In restaurants here in the US, most people’s experience eating Japanese hot pots are at a Shabu-Shabu restaurant.  You might consider shabu-shabu one of the more refined versions of nabe, where  the flavors are often delicate and subtle.

Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice

Video: Watch Us Making Beef Sukiyaki

One Pot Beef Sukiyaki Recipe

This Beef sukiyaki Japanese hot pot recipe is inspired from a great cookbook called Japanese Hot Pots. For those uninitiated to the pleasures of Japanese Hot Pots, they are essentially one-pot meals where the ingredients are all poached in a broth.  After cooking, that pot then becomes the serving vessel upon which everyone gathers and shares. For us it is the ultimate way to eat.  It’s wonderful to sit down at a table together to cook and share this delicious comforting meal.

Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice
Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice

How to Make Beef Sukiyaki Japanese Hot Pot

The Japanese hot pots share a simple and easy formula.

  • Prep the ingredients: cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Place all your sliced meats on a plate.
  • Make the broth (most nabe broths are quick to make ), neatly assemble the ingredients on a plate then set aside. The often use dashi, a classic Japanese soup stock. If you want to make your own dashi, here’s great guide. However we usually just use Hondashi, a dashi soup stock powder. Just dissolve a little in some water and you are ready to go.
  • Sear some of the meat or vegetables in the hot pot. Eat with your rice or noodles.
  • Add the broth and bring to a low simmer. Dip remaining meat or vegetables in the hot broth to cook as you eat.
  • As the broth becomes more flavorful from the dipped or poached meat, ladle the broth into your bowl and enjoy.
  • The cooked ingredients are communally eaten, then the remaining broth is often consumed with a comforting and filling shime or “finish”, often cooked rice or noodles.
  • Like most any culture’s home cooking, the ingredients are nourishing and economical. Plus, this being Japanese cuisine, you are nearly always guaranteed extra depth of flavor from an ingredient which will provide an umami element into the nabe. Most times this will be in the broth, which frequently are miso, kombu, or soy based.
Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice

What is Sukiyaki?

Sukiyaki is type of nabe (Japanese hot pot) where deliciously thin sliced beef or vegetables are quickly seared first in the pot. Then a broth of sake, soy sauce and sugar are poured into the hotpot and simmered on low heat. The richness of the beef, highlighted by the sweetness of the sugar combined with a bit of savory umami from the soy sauce and a bit of a punch from the sake, make this is an utter delicious hot pot. The cooked veggies and meats are eaten with rice and the flavorful broth is poured over the rice.

Japanese Hot Pot Recipe or Beef Sukyaki Recipe @whiteonrice

Beef Sukiyaki Hot Pot (Nabe)

If you don't have or can't find some of the ingredients below, don't let that stop you from making this.  Substitute what you can and like to eat.
The beef will brown very quickly, so make sure you have everything prepped before you start cooking the beef (broth mixed, other ingredients sliced, & noodles cooked – if using).
4.95 from 20 votes

Ingredients

For Sukiyaki Broth

  • 2 cups (480 ml) Dashi , or water
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) Soy Sauce , (if using water instead of dashi, add a bit more soy sauce and adjust to taste)
  • 2-4 Tablespoons (30-60 ml) Sake , optional
  • 2 Tablespoons (25 g) Sugar , or to taste

Sukiyaki Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) Vegetable Oil , or beef fat trimmings
  • 12 oz. (340 g) Beef Tri Tip, Strip Loin, or Rib Eye , sliced 1/8″ thick *see note 1 below
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) quartered Shallots, sliced sweet onions, or pearl onions
  • 8 Napa Cabbage leaves , sliced *see note 2 below
  • 4 Green Onions or 1 Negi (Japanese Leek) , sliced on angle in 2" pieces
  • 12 ounces (340 g) fresh Mushrooms , one or more of Shiitake, Enoki, Brown Mushrooms, Oyster, etc…)
  • 6 ounces (170 g) (about 1/2 package) Broiled Tofu , cut into 1/2″ sticks
  • 7 ounces (198 g) Ito Konnyaku noodles, shirataki, yam, or cellophane noodles , cooked if needed, drained & rinsed
  • 2 cups (60 g) Shungiku (a type of chrysanthemum leaf), Spinach, or Arugula

Shime – stuff to eat with the sukiyaki and to finish off the broth

  • cooked short grain rice
  • optional- 1 egg for each person , beaten

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Make the sukiyaki broth. Combine the dashi, soy sauce, sake, and sugar. Mix to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
    Pouring sake into measuring glass
  • Prep all the sukiyaki ingredients and set aside.
    Sukiyaki ingredients laid out on cutting board
  • In a 4 1/2 – 5 qt. pot (preferably an enameled cast iron, but use what you've got) warm pan over medium heat and add oil or beef fat trimmings.  Render fat (if using) for a minute or so, then add beef slices. Brown the beef and then gather to one side of the pan.
    Browning the sliced beef in the pan
  • Arrange shallots or onion, cabbage, green onions, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles into neat clusters in the pan.
    Vegetables added to the pan
  • Add the sukiyaki broth, then simmer for 10 minutes.
    Pouring the sukiyaki broth into the pan
  • Add Shungiko, spinach, or arugula leaves on top of everything, then cook for 1 minute more. Serve in the pot you cooked it in. One optional way to enjoy this nabe, is to crack and beat an egg in a bowl for each person.  As they eat, they can dip each cooked ingredient into the egg, then consume. Eat through all the goodies in the pan, then add the remaining broth into bowls with rice to finish off all of the delicious broth.
    Ladling out the sukiyaki into a small bowl

Notes

*Note 1: You can always ask your butcher to slice the meat thinly for you, but for those DIY types, put the meat in the freezer for 2-3 hours to firm it up, then slice it using smooth, long strokes slicing across the end grain.  In Japan the beef is usually super well marbled.  Not just the Kobe beef either, nearly everything we saw had incredible marbling.  If you can, try to find something similar in your area.
*Note 2: To slice the cabbage so they absorb the broth well, lay a stack of leaves flat on a cutting board. Starting at the base end, instead of slicing straight down, slice at a sharp angle, right to left (if you are right handed.)  Repeat every two inches.

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 545kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 1170mg, Potassium: 920mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 553IU, Vitamin C: 23mg, Calcium: 184mg, Iron: 5mg

Favorite Tools for Japanese Hot Pot and This Beef Sukiyaki Recipe:

It can sometimes be hard to find good hot pot ingredients and tools. Here’s some of the favorites:

Large Sukiyaki Pot
Iwachu Iron Sukiyaki Pan-Large

Made in Japan, this is a perfect sukiyaki pan for 4-6 people. This sukiyaki pan is made by Iwachu, one of the finest manufacturers of Japanese ironware.

Medium Sukiyaki Pot
Iwachu Iron Sukiyaki Pan-Medium w Lid

Made in Japan with a Cypress wood lid, this is a perfect sukiyaki pan for 2-3 people. Also made by Iwachu.

Zojirushi Electric kettle
Zojirushi Electric Skillet

A great tabletop cooking electric skillet for this Japanese hot pot recipe. Perfect for sukiyaki and other hot pots. Let everyone at the table get in on the cooking action.

Japanese Hot Pots Book
Japanese Hot Pots – Comforting One-Pot Meals by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat

The recipes are fantastic. Even more prevalent in the book is their love for nabe, a truly special cuisine from the hearts and home kitchens of Japan.

Japanese Home Cooking Cookbook
Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto

From one of the Iron Chef masters, Morimoto makes Japanese cuisine accessible. Bringing to life the beautifully simple and flavorful home cooking of Japan.  

Japanese Cooking Cookbook
Japanese Cooking – A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji

Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art changed the way the culinary world viewed Japanese cooking, moving it from obscure ethnic food to haute cuisine, bringing the Japanese kitchen within the reach of Western cooks.

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