Recipe: Nikujaga, Japanese dish with beef and potato in sweetened soy sauce. Perfect dish while waiting for Sandy to hit!

Number of steps:  7
Time taken: Approx. 30 - 40 min
Approx. 250kcal per serving (this recipe makes approximately 2 servings)

About This Dish:
Today I was stuck at home because of Sandy the hurricane, so I ended up making this Japanese homemade winter dish! This is also a type of comfort dish where every family has a distinct taste; some families might make it a strong taste using more soy sauce where some might make it more light. It's eaten with rice and miso soup (and other veggies like salad of course). Yes, I guess we love carbs. This plate is more potatoes than anything else so don't kill it with too much meat! 

What You Need:
(Makes 2 servings)

• 1/3 pound of thin sliced beef or pork (I used beef and put of it, around 15 slices maybe?)
• 1 large potato
• 1/2 onion (I used red onion but it's usually regular onions)
• 7 baby carrots 
• 1/2 - 1 pack of shirataki noodles (They sell these at wholefoods or shaws, click here to see what the packaging looks like) 
• 2 cup water
• 1 tbsp Japanese sake
• 1/2 tsp of hondashi 
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp mirin (adjust to your taste, I ended up putting in 1 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (adjust to your taste, I ended up putting in 1.5 tbsp)

1. Cup up the onions like so. While you do this, boil some water in a pot. We're going to boil the shirataki real quick (to get rid of the smell)!

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2. Once the water is boiling, boil the shirataki for 2 minutes or so. Once it's done, drain and cut it up in to edible sizes.

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5. Add the potatoes and carrots. Continue heating on MEDIUM heat until the ingredients are warm.

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1.2. Peel the potatoes and leave it in the water for a couple minutes.

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3. Heat up a pot and fry the thin sliced meat on MEDIUM heat.

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6. Add the water, sake and hondashi. Put a lid on the pot and put down the heat a little bit. Heat for 10 minutes while skimming the skum. After 10 minutes, check to see if the potatoes are cooked through then, add the mirin and sugar. Heat on low for another 5 minutes with the lid on. Mix whenever you think is right but don't crush the potatoes! Be gentle.

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1.3. Cut up the baby carrots too.

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4. Add the shirataki noodles and onion. Heat for 2 minutes  or until the ingredients are warm.

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7.After 5 minutes, add the soy sauce and heat on low for another 5 minutes without the lid. Mix carefully as it heats. Start tasting it and add more soy sauce or mirin depending on the outcome.

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