Sukiyaki
すき焼き
Kanto-style sukiyaki: thin marbled beef, tofu and vegetables simmered at the table in sweet soy warishita, each bite dipped in beaten raw egg.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: すき焼き.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Sukiyaki is a shallow iron pan of thinly sliced beef and vegetables simmered at the table in warishita, a sweet, salty mix of soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. This is the Kanto way, as cooked in Tokyo: the warishita is mixed in advance and poured in, and everything cooks in it together. Each mouthful is lifted out and dipped into a bowl of beaten raw egg, which cools it and coats it. The beef should be well marbled and sliced 2 mm thin, so it cooks in under a minute. Tofu, leek, mushrooms and napa cabbage drink up the sauce, and the sauce gets stronger as the evening goes on.
What you'll need
13 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Warishita
- Pan
- To serve
Ingredients
Warishita
Pan
- Beef, well-marbled ribeye or sirloin, sliced 2 mm thin600 g
- Neutral oil, or a piece of beef suet15 ml
- Tofu, firm or grilled, in 3 cm blocks300 g
- Leek, or Japanese negi, sliced 2 cm on the diagonal2
- Napa cabbage, cut in 4 cm pieces300 g
- Mushrooms, 8 shiitake with a cross cut in each cap, plus a pack of enoki250 g
To serve
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and 100 ml of the water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat. Keep the other 100 ml of water by the pan for later.
3 min
Step 2
Lay the beef out on a platter and arrange the tofu, leek, cabbage and mushrooms on another. Set a portable burner on the table if you have one, and give everyone a small bowl, a raw egg and a bowl of rice.
15 min
Tip: If your butcher cannot slice it, freeze the beef for 40 minutes and slice it yourself with your sharpest knife.
Step 3
Heat the pan over medium-high heat and grease it with the oil or suet. Lay in a few slices of beef, pour a little warishita over them and cook just until the pink goes. Eat this first beef straight away.
2 min
Step 4
Arrange the tofu, leek, mushrooms and cabbage in separate sections of the pan and pour in warishita to about 1 cm deep. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until the leek is soft and the tofu has coloured.
8 min
Step 5
Add beef a few slices at a time; each slice needs only 30 to 60 seconds. Everyone beats their egg in their bowl, lifts out what they want and dips it before eating. Top up with warishita as the pan empties, and add a splash of water when the sauce gets too strong.
10 min
Watch: The egg is eaten raw. Use very fresh eggs, pasteurised if you can get them, and leave the egg out for pregnant women, small children, older people and anyone with a weak immune system.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 818 kcal
- Protein
- 61 g
- Carbs
- 53.7 g
- Fat
- 36.4 g
- Saturated fat
- 11.8 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 17 g
- Sodium
- 1851 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Soy
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.
Substitutions
Raw egg dip → A soft-poached egg, or no egg at all
Poached is safer and still rich. Without egg, dilute the warishita a little more; the egg usually softens the salt.
Tips
- Shirataki noodles and shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) are classic in the pan if your grocer has them. Cooks keep shirataki away from the beef, saying it toughens the meat.
- Boil a portion of udon in the last of the sauce, or pour the rest of the egg over it, to finish.
- Do not crowd the pan with beef. A few slices at a time stays tender.
History & culture
Sukiyaki is a celebration dish: New Year, birthdays, a bonus, a visit from family. It is cooked on a portable burner in the middle of the table and everyone eats from the pan. Kansai cooks sear the beef first in suet with sugar and soy and add liquid later; Tokyo cooks use warishita. Each side thinks the other is wrong.
Beef was largely off the Japanese table until the 1870s, when the Meiji government encouraged meat eating as part of modernising. Yokohama and Tokyo restaurants served gyunabe, beef hotpot, and that grew into sukiyaki. The name may come from suki, a spade, on which the story goes farmers once grilled meat in the fields.
Traditional — Kanto style with warishita. A cast-iron sukiyaki pan on a tabletop gas burner is the usual kit; a heavy frying pan on the stove, carried to the table, works. Japanese eggs are produced to be eaten raw; elsewhere, use pasteurised eggs for the dip if you can get them.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Sukiyaki take?
50 min all in — 25 min prep, 25 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Wheat, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
10 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan, Saucepan, Chef's knife, Cutting board.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Soy sauce — 100 ml. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much soy sauce?
100 ml of Soy sauce.
How much mirin?
100 ml of Mirin.
How much sugar?
40 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Raw egg dip → A soft-poached egg, or no egg at all. Poached is safer and still rich. Without egg, dilute the warishita a little more; the egg usually softens the salt.
What should I watch for?
The egg is eaten raw. Use very fresh eggs, pasteurised if you can get them, and leave the egg out for pregnant women, small children, older people and anyone with a weak immune system.
Any tips from this recipe?
Shirataki noodles and shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) are classic in the pan if your grocer has them. Cooks keep shirataki away from the beef, saying it toughens the meat. Boil a portion of udon in the last of the sauce, or pour the rest of the egg over it, to finish. Do not crowd the pan with beef. A few slices at a time stays tender.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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