Beef Sukiyaki and Japanese Hot Pots
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Beef Sukiyaki Hot Pot (Nabe)
Ingredients
For Sukiyaki Broth
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
- Nabe Pot optional
Instructions
- Make the sukiyaki broth. Combine the dashi, soy sauce, sake, and sugar. Mix to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
- Prep all the sukiyaki ingredients and set aside.
- 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.
- Arrange shallots or onion, cabbage, green onions, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles into neat clusters in the pan.
- Add the sukiyaki broth, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- 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.
Notes
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
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:
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.
Made in Japan with a Cypress wood lid, this is a perfect sukiyaki pan for 2-3 people. Also made by Iwachu.
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.
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.
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: 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.
- Read more about Japanese cuisine and hot pots at The Japanese Food Report .
- Somen noodles with sweet soy ginger sauce recipe from Takashi’s noodles , another book by Harris Salat
More Easy Recipes:
- Grilled tomato lollipop toasts
- Easy No churn caramel ice cream
- Zucchini and ricotta tartines
- kale bacon and white bean salad
- Chicken and broccoli stir fry
- Easy Beef Stew Recipe in Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
- This recipe was originally published in 2010 and re-published in 2023 with a new video.
Hello,
Where can I get a good authentic nabe pot in the states? I live in NYC.
thanks!
Your Sukiyake hot pot recipe looks delicious! Is it possilbe to substitute chicken for the beef? Would I prepare the dish differently?
Thanks very much.
You could do a chicken sukiyaki as well. In the book which this recipe was adapted from, Harris has a chicken sukiyaki recipe as well. The recipe is based a local hot pot in an area of Japan that is prized for their chicken. Process is similar to this beef sukiyaki recipe, but with miso also flavoring the chicken. You could try subbing the chicken in this recipe and we’re sure it will come out nicely, but if you get a chance, pick up Harris Salat and Tadashi Ono’s book Japanese Hot Pots. It really is a wonderful cookbook.
great post! I lurrrrrrrve hot pot – it’s the best during the winter 🙂
actually, it’s good anytime..
Wow, I was searching for a good recipe for Banh Mi and had already decided to try the Caramel Pork Banh Mi. After cruising through your site I stumbled on this Sukiyaki dish, this is one of my 3 kid’s favorite dishes. I just made Sukiyaki a week ago. I don’t have a hot pot so I use an electric skillet on the dining table and have the family help themselves as I cook, the skillet can barely keep up with the demand. Funny you should mention about the konnyaku noodles, I have to have 3 bags of it, one for each kid. My wife and I just get a little taste of the noodles. I need to make it again using sake. My kids don’t care for the raw egg so I use finely grated daikon and shoyu for the dipping sauce. The photos of the dish are amazing, I can practically smell the sukiyaki cooking.
I JUST migrated to Japan and one of the first things I bought for myself was a large metal cooking pan so I can effectively make things like this for myself since the harsh winter is about to rear it’s head. I’ve made sukiyaki in the states several times and have enjoyed it, but there’s something so special about being able to make it for myself using ingredients fresh from the local Japanese grocery. Thank you for sharing your recipe, I look forward to making it. 🙂
Amaaaaazing! We made it tonight, it was a) a fun cooking together activity and b)DELICIOUS! So good and perfect. A few substitutions as we’re in Denmark and things like Shiitake mushrooms are hard to come by but some nice brown ones, a bottle of sake I’ve been saving and perfection, it was so great!
I made Sukiyaki today using this recipe and it was delicious! Thank you so much!
THIS IS SO GOOD!!! I made this for a group of my friends and it was GONE in maybe 10 minutes! Be careful with the Sake though, if any more is added the sauce becomes extremely strong! *****
WOW. Made this for dinner tonight. Very flavorful and yummy. Also quick and easy to prepare.
How many servings does this recipe make? Anyone? 4? Can’t find the info on this site.
Yes, this generally serves 4 people.
I love the pot that you have used to cook this sukiyaki in. Where did you get it from, I suspect Japan. The dish looks delicious, I’m teaching a group of Chefs in a couple of weeks time and I’m tempted to show them this recipe of yours, it looks inviting and simply delicious!
For New Year’s eve gathering in the Philippines, we had shabu shabu with a large assortment of ingredients. The only thing is, my sister used store bought ready made soup base and I tasted the artificial flavoring.
Years ago, a Japanese doctor friend used to prepare sukiyaki whenever he visited and I would stop him from pouring a lot of sugar into the broth. He must have the mentality from the shogun days before the abundance of cane sugar. Anyway, it’s been ages since I prepared it myself. Now you gave me an idea and inspiration especially in these freezing days in my neck of the woods in the northeast.
Thanks and more power to you , Diane and Todd for the year 2010!
wow – this looks amazing! when winter comes around here in Oz I’ll definitely be giving this a go (with gluten free soy sauce) YUM!
Looks great. I really need to get myself a proper nabe. I end up making most of my nabe’s in a Le Creuset and while it works just fine it just doesn’t have the same feel.
ever since we left san francisco, i’ve never gotten over the sukiyaki from japantown. this is the first time…in a LONG time that i’m reminded how much i miss an authentic hot pot. i’m licking my lips and wishing you were my neighbor. beyond gorgeous.
This is such a lovely description of the ceremony of this dish as well as the comfort it brings. The snow is falling this morning—thanks for the warming sentiments and photos.