Sukiyaki

Possibly one of my all time favourite Japanese meals! It's definitely a winter time favourite. I love hosting Sukiyaki parties at my place. So far this winter there has only been 1 and it was a vegetarian version. I was wondering if the flavours would be as rich without the beef, but it was still fantastic!

Check out this link from about.com to read a bit more about Sukiyaki. Here is a photo I've borrowed from:
http://be.asahi.com/20050115/W23/0006.html

Here is my recipe for the Warishita (Broth)

1 cup dashi;

1/2 cup soy sauce;

1/2 cup mirin;

4 tbsp sugar

I usually have an extra cup of dashi on standby for refilling the pot if it dries out a little during the cooking process.

Ingredients

500g very thin (wafer thin) sliced beef (marbled with fat is best);
shiitake mushrooms - whole or cut in half if they're big;

enoki mushrooms - small heads are better;

firm tofu - sliced into rectangle portions;

shallots - cut into 5cm lengths;

1/2 chinese cabbage (hakusai) - chopped into 3 cm thickness;

udon noodles (up to 3 packets - everyone loves them);

1 fresh egg for each person eating, beaten in a small bowl (optional);

boiled rice to accompany meal.

Mix together the broth and bring it to a simmer in a pot in the centre of the table. Add ingredients to the pot (enough to fill the pot one layer) and let them cook (while you chat and drink some wine or sake) before removing, dipping into your beaten raw egg and eating. After a while the raw egg mixture tends to disappear and you have a dipping sauce mixed from the borth and the egg together. Keep adding more ingredients as you go so there is always something cooked for people to take and eat. The meat cooks really fast, so put that in just as you're ready to eat it. The extra udon noodles are great to add at the very end. It's usually everyone's favourite bit and the noodles soak up the remaining broth for everyone to polish off. The longer they're left in there, the better they become. YUMMO!