Ryuji's Sukiyaki with Three Seasonings That Lets Japanese Beef Shine

When asked, the staff present at the shoot said they don't eat sukiyaki very often. The reason is that "the meat is expensive," and when they do use beef at home, it's usually for shabu-shabu or yakiniku. Ryuji also sees sukiyaki as "a really high-end dish." With that in mind, Ryuji says that for an occasional splurge, people should first try "the most delicious sukiyaki."

The beef used was 300g of "reasonably good" Japanese beef that was 20% off. At 100g per person, that makes about three servings. It's not impossible to make with imported beef. According to Ryuji, however, thinly sliced sukiyaki cuts aren't widely sold for imported beef, so if you use it, fattier cuts such as short plate are a better fit.

The ingredients are four: Japanese leek, grilled tofu, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), and shirataki. Enoki mushrooms had been bought too, but they were left out this time. Ryuji explains that enoki have a "strong" flavor that would overwhelm the taste of good meat. Later, when a staff member asked whether mushrooms should be added, Ryuji said it's fine to add them. If you want to bulk things up, go right ahead. This combination was chosen because this time the style is all about eating good meat.

What Ryuji calls the most important part is the warishita. A typical warishita uses soy sauce, mirin, sake, dashi, and so on, adding up to five or more ingredients. After a lot of experimentation, Ryuji found that stripping the ingredients down makes it taste better.

The amounts are 4 tablespoons of sugar to 6 tablespoons (90cc) of soy sauce. The way to remember it: "soy sauce is 1.5 times the sugar." To make it, first heat just the sugar over high heat. Once it starts bubbling, changes color, and gets slightly burnt, turn off the heat and add the soy sauce. If you make too much caramel it won't fully dissolve, so "just a little" is enough.

For umami, Ajinomoto is used instead of kombu. Kombu is expensive and also adds its own aroma. Ryuji believes Ajinomoto is what brings out the flavor of the meat best. The amount is about 6 shakes for 90cc of soy sauce, or a ratio of 1 shake per tablespoon of soy sauce.

It's fine if the burnt sugar doesn't fully dissolve. Once you add the ingredients, the moisture they release will dissolve it. If you want it to dissolve right away, or you're making it ahead to use later, add 1–2 spoonfuls of water and bring it to a boil, and it'll be mostly gone. The key point, Ryuji says, is that letting it turn crispy first and then dissolving it gives a toasty aroma. A staff member took this as "a mock version of what good restaurants do with zarame sugar," and Ryuji agreed. Since most people won't go out of their way to buy zarame, Ryuji asks viewers to put in a little extra effort and do it this way.

The finished warishita is syrupy and quite concentrated. Because it isn't diluted with sake or dashi, Ryuji describes it as "pure umami." As for store-bought sukiyaki sauces, Ryuji points out that the umami seasoning and dashi flavor are too strong, making them taste "manufactured," and the sweetness can be cloying.

Cut the leek diagonally into large pieces. Some restaurants use only the white part, but Ryuji says the green part is fragrant and tasty too, so it should be used.

Sear the leek once at the start. Use beef tallow, over high heat, and don't move it even when it crackles, so it gets browned. Ryuji says charred leek "really packs a punch," so this is the one thing that's non-negotiable. The toasty aroma from the leek is also factored in as part of the warishita. Everything is cooked in a frying pan, and Ryuji says there's no need to go out and buy a sukiyaki pot.

Wash the shungiku, squeeze it lightly, and cut off the thick stems. This is because the leaves and stems cook at different rates. Grilled tofu was chosen because the seared marks look nice, but firm tofu works too. Searing firm tofu gives a similar look, Ryuji says. Ryuji cuts it into about 12 pieces.

Ryuji declares that "sukiyaki without shirataki isn't sukiyaki." Ryuji says making sukiyaki is practically an excuse to eat shirataki.

When a staff member mentioned having been told long ago that "cooking meat and shirataki together makes the meat tough," Ryuji dismissed it as "a lie." Ryuji tried it and found the meat didn't get tough, even with imported beef. Ryuji has also heard the explanation that some kind of calcium in shirataki is the cause, but in Ryuji's view, even if there's an effect, it isn't noticeable. Ryuji's take is that cooking wasn't studied scientifically in the past, so a surprising amount of mistaken cooking knowledge still lingers.

Shirataki has a slight odor. Ryuji recommends cutting it into about four pieces with scissors. As is, it's about as long as ramen noodles, so Ryuji says you should definitely do this.

Arrange the seared leek, shirataki, and tofu in the frying pan. Add the shungiku stems first, and the leaves later. Start with about a third of the warishita, then add more so it soaks into the tofu; in the end, about two-thirds was used. Even though the warishita is syrupy, the tofu and shirataki release moisture, so it ends up just right.

The meat goes in last, because simmering makes it tough. Ryuji describes the process up to that point as "raising" the warishita and tofu. Before the meat goes in, the vegetables aren't all that tasty yet. The key, Ryuji explains, is to eat them after the flavor of the meat has transferred into the warishita.

Spread the meat out as much as possible, cook over low heat, and eat it while it's still a little pink. Keeping each slice whole is the more restaurant-style approach, but since the slices are big for people eating with drinks, it's fine to cut them in half. Don't add all the shungiku leaves at once either; since they're ready to eat almost as soon as they go in, just add an appropriate amount once the stems have softened a little.

First, the meat alone was eaten with beaten egg, and everyone said "delicious." Ryuji asked, "You think the meat is the star, don't you?" and recommended the vegetables. Of the shungiku, Ryuji said, "At my age, shungiku is delicious," and that eating shungiku together with slightly rare meat is the best.

The grilled tofu, having simmered from the start, was well seasoned through. Ryuji explains that because grilled tofu has had moisture cooked out of it, it absorbs the broth. Of the shirataki and leek, Ryuji said, "Honestly, these might be the best part," going so far as to say they're the reason for making the dish. The seared leek was also well received.

In Ryuji's experience, "honestly, you don't need that much" meat. 100g per person is plenty filling. The flavor is on the strong side, so it goes well with rice too. Some people say meat alone is enough for sukiyaki, but Ryuji thinks of it as a hot pot dish. Ryuji likes eating it by layering various ingredients together, saying it's more fun that way.

When a staff member asked, "Is this a Kansai-leaning way of eating it?" Ryuji answered, "Probably." That's because it's a style where you first cook zarame sugar and eat with soy sauce. In Kansai, sugar and soy sauce are often thinned with sake. Ryuji positions this recipe as using umami seasoning in place of the sake. The conversation also touched on how Kansai-style sukiyaki has less liquid and is different from a hot pot.

Ryuji candidly admits to not having thought sukiyaki was all that delicious. Ryuji had believed it couldn't beat shabu-shabu. But now Ryuji feels that when eaten this simply with vegetables, sukiyaki shows its true worth and is delicious. That said, Ryuji added the condition that reasonably good beef is preferable for this. There's also a version that doesn't use Japanese beef, which is the type that uses more seasonings. Ryuji may introduce it in the future if there are requests.

If the warishita runs low partway through, just add more while keeping the ratio of 1 part sugar to 1.5 parts soy sauce. For Ajinomoto, the guideline is 1 shake per tablespoon of soy sauce, and those who want stronger umami can add more. Ryuji says that eating cloyingly sweet sukiyaki makes it taste sweet, but because this recipe caramelizes the sugar, you don't perceive the sweetness that much.

Ryuji says the finish is "definitely udon." Simmer frozen udon in the warishita, which has taken on the flavor of the meat. One or two portions are both fine. Since there isn't much liquid left in the frying pan, Ryuji says it's better to heat the udon in the microwave for about 4 minutes, or boil it to warm it up beforehand.

Leftover shungiku and leek can stay in. If there's warishita left over, it's fine to add all of it. If it gets too strong, adjust with water. The key is not to overcook the udon; simmering it for about a minute after adding it, letting it soak up the broth, is enough to flavor it well. A staff member who tried it called it "the kind of thing you eat in your room at a nice ryokan," and Ryuji urged, "You should definitely do this."

To wrap up, Ryuji said that store-bought sauces can be cloyingly sweet or overloaded with umami, so lately this sukiyaki has been Ryuji's personal best. Beyond that, it comes down to the quality of the meat. The meat used this time didn't have much marbling, so it was easy to polish off. When using heavily marbled meat, Ryuji says some adjustments are needed, such as adding more vegetables.

None of the crew had originally been sukiyaki fans, but this somewhat Kansai-leaning sukiyaki was well received. Ryuji closed the video by saying there's also a sukiyaki that can be made delicious even with cheap meat, and that Ryuji would like to introduce it if there are requests.