How to make Nikujaga
Posted by: kirin on 
Apr 30th, 2011 | 
Filed under: Japanese foodsNikujaga is a representative Japanese home cooking dish. It’s a sort of dish that makes us remember the taste of mom’s cooking. In other words, it’s one of the most popular dishes that girls want to master for her boyfriend. 
Ingredients for 2-3 people
-thinly sliced beef (150g)
-potato (2 or 3)
-onion (1)
-carrot (1)
-soy sauce (tbs 3)
-sugar (tbs 2)
-cooking wine or cooking sake (tbs 2)
Prepare these ingredients.
Chop potatoes into chunks and immerse them in water.
Chop carrot and cut onions into wedges. Chop beef into bite-size.
Put 1 tbs of oil into the deep pan, heat it and put the beef inside.
Stir-fry it roughly and add soy sauce, sugar and sake.
Add potato, onion and carrot. Then turn down the heat to medium low with the lid over the pan.
Simmer it for 20-25 minutes, check inside from time to time.
It’s done when the soup is almost gone.
Ta-da~~!! ^__^
Usually most of Nikujaga recipes will say we need to add Dashi, but this way is easier, takes less time and tastes great. So why not? I have used Dashi for Nikujaga but my problem was I often made it taste less due to too much Dashi sometimes. That’s why I ended up simmering for a long time until the ingredients can absorb the Dashi and sugar/soy sauce taste well. This recipe was shared by Chika, and I quite liked it when I tried it. 
You can easily make Japanese dish like this at home.
Also, pork can be substitute for beef. Especially in east Japan, beef is quite expensive and some people prefer using pork instead. People from west Japan would think of beef when they hear Nikujaga because beef is frequently used and I guess not so expensive there. Since my father is originally from Osaka, it was definitely beef inside Nikujaga in my house. I never thought of pork Nikujaga as an option. Thus, I was so surprised to see pork Nikujaga served at my hubby’s parent house for the first time. He told me it had been always pork Nikujaga in his house when it comes to Nikujaga. Gradually I started to use pork now because he doesn’t like beef (I think it’s just that he is not used to) and now I like pork more than beef. ^ ^;
How would you like Nikujaga? Looks easy, huh?
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April 30th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Sounds like an easy recipe! Definitely will try this out. Thanks for sharing! By the way, did u add any mirin into the nikujaga?
April 30th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Oh yum! That looks fantastic! And I laughed when I read "In other words, it's one of the most popular dishes that girls want to master for her boyfriend!" hahaha. The recipe looks fairly easy to! It's on my to-try list
April 30th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Oh, thanks so much for this tip.
This dish looks really delicious, I want to try it and cook for my husband!!
I Love your blog!!!
April 30th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Hmmmm. Looks like beef stew to me. LOL
April 30th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Some people do. But Mirin makes it taste sweeter. So if you add Mirin, be careful not to make it too sweet. Also, when you add Mirin at the end, it makes the dish glossy and that looks great.
Sorry it was confusing I added the Mirin picture in the end. In this recipe, Mirin is not used. But it's optional. You can use it with less sugar maybe. ^ ^
April 30th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Thank you laura.
BTW, I was unable to leave a comment because there was no NAME/URL option, but I just wanted to say I love your hair and the blue dress! So kawaii!! ^ ^
April 30th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Thank you Jade.
Hope your husband likes it too! ^ ^
April 30th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
Yes, you can say it's a Japanese styled beef stew. ^ ^ But I think it's healthier because it doesn't contain butter. ^ ^;
May 1st, 2011 at 1:21 am
Totalmente delicioso !! Nosotros cocinamos ese plato por aca, pero no tiene un nombre específico. Yo amoooooooo comer esto !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3. Yo no puedo creer que es un plato que se cocina en casa por alla !
Totally delicious !! We cook that dish over here, but it doesn't have an specific name. I loveeeeeeeeee to eat this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 . I can't believe it is a home cooking dish over there !
May 1st, 2011 at 4:33 am
Looks yummy! Easy to do here in America too–I already have most of the ingredients, and the others are easy to get. Thanks for sharing.
May 1st, 2011 at 5:40 am
I just tried this recipe and it tastes really good! thanks for sharing =)
May 1st, 2011 at 12:40 pm
You cook it over there? You mean…where?
May 1st, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Thank you megan.
If you like it, please share the recipe with your friends or mom. ^ ^
May 1st, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Thanks for the recipe! It looks like something simple and delicious that I can make even when I’m busy with homework ^o^
May 1st, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Sí. Refiriéndome a país. Por acá/aquí en México, donde estoy temporalmente viviendo. De regreso en mi país natal ( ( acá/aquí: http://bit.ly/MxDV6), no cocino ya que mi mama cocina por mi.
Yes ! . Referring to country. Over here in Mexico, where i'm temporarily living. Back at my home country ( here: http://bit.ly/MxDV6), i don't cook since mom cooks for me.
May 2nd, 2011 at 2:24 pm
I'm sure this nikujaga plate was おいしい!
I think here are more men cooking for his women than the opposite :p
May 3rd, 2011 at 3:29 am
Entiendo, gracias! So the pictures in your blog are mostly from Mexico? Quiero saber la vida de Mexico. Is it safe? I read Japanese people like to stay at either Cuernavaca or Guanajuato. Tienes razon? Maybe it's not proper to ask you here.
IntenseDebate sometimes changes certain numbers to emoticons but I was able to see the link that said Panama. I hear Panama is a wonderful place to live in. ^ ^
Thank you!
May 3rd, 2011 at 3:33 am
Yes, try it. ^ ^ Hope you'll love it too.
May 3rd, 2011 at 3:33 am
Really? I wish to live in Spain then. ^ ^
May 3rd, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Hi Kirin,
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us. It is really easy and tastes delicious.
I made Nikujaga yesterday for supper and my husband loved it! He is from Brazil and his parents are Japanese. Now we live in Canada and it made him remember his mom's recipe.
May 4th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
That sounds great! I'm very happy to hear your story. Thanks for sharing!!
May 6th, 2011 at 4:07 am
Hi kirin,
thank you for sharing !
I like Pork nikujaka.
I prefer pork to beef. Sometime, in some dishes, Beef give off a very strong smell .
May 6th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Hi Winnie,
You're right! That's true beef sometimes gives off a very strong smell.
September 23rd, 2011 at 3:06 am
Okay just made this… SOO DELICIOUS lol. TY so much for this recipe! Hope you guys post some more simple Japanese meals!
September 23rd, 2011 at 9:19 am
Thank you for your feedback! ^ ^ Please look forward to more easy everyday recipes from Japan.
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