🥔 Nikujaga
Nikujaga is a Japanese home-style stew of thinly sliced beef, potatoes, onion and carrot simmered in a sweet soy broth with sugar and mirin. The potatoes soak up the broth and turn soft at the edges, while the beef stays tender. It is served in a bowl with rice and is one of the best-known examples of Japanese comfort food.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g thinly sliced beef
- 500 g potatoes, cut in chunks
- 1 large onion, cut in wedges
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 400 ml water
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
- Heat the oil in a pot and briefly fry the beef until it changes colour.
- Add the onion, carrot and potatoes and stir for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the water, add the sugar and mirin, bring to a boil and skim.
- Add the soy sauce, cover loosely and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Rest for a few minutes so the vegetables absorb the broth, then serve.
How to make it lighter
- Use lean beef and skip the oil — the meat can be browned in a dry non-stick pot.
- Reduce the sugar by half; the onion and carrot add natural sweetness.
- Swap part of the potato for more carrot and onion for a lighter bowl.
History
Nikujaga is usually traced to the Meiji era, and a popular story links it to navy cooks trying to recreate a Western beef stew with Japanese seasonings — a tale that is not firmly documented. Today it is a staple of home cooking and set-meal restaurants across Japan.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →