I love being able to throw a bunch of ingredients in a slow cooker, forget about them, and then have dinner “magically” appear in the pot at dinner time. Yesterday I woke up craving Nikujaga (肉じゃが, literally means “meat potato”), a kind of Japanese stewed dish of beef and potatoes (and sometimes other vegetables) that is simmered in a broth of dashi, sake, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. This dish is one of the most popular Japanese dishes, though you probably won’t find it on any restaurant menu since this is a dish that a loving wife and mother has usually perfected for her family. As I was thinking about making this I decided to try and modify the recipe to work in a slow cooker.
I also added some other veggies that needed to be used. It turned out fabulously and totally hit the spot. The combination of succulent thinly sliced beef and hearty vegetables simmered in a broth that is slightly sweet and salty is extremely satisfying–comfort food at its best!

Slow Cooker Nikujaga (Japanese Stewed Beef and Potatoes)
La Fuji Mama

1/2 – 1 lb. beef (thinly sliced or cut into bite sized pieces) (fairly fatty beef is best)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 c. potatoes, chopped (you can substitute pumpkin or butternut squash for part or all of the potatoes)
1 large carrot, cut into rounds or short sticks
2-3 c. dashi (or water) (depending on how much liquid you’d like to end up with–I like mine with more!)*
2 Tbsp. sake (I substituted rice wine vinegar)
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. mirin
3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add beef, making sure to separate all of the pieces and coat them with oil, and then brown over medium heat.

2. Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes. Put the meat and vegetables into the slow cooker.

3. Add the dashi, soy, sugar, sake and miring, cover and cook on high heat for 4-6 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

*Make your own dashi stock–it’s SO easy! I like this recipe from Just Hungry:

Dashi Stock (ichiban dashi)
Recipe from Just Hungry Makes 3-4 cups of stock

1 4-inch (3-4 cm) piece of dried konbu
a good handful of bonito flakes
cold water, from the tap (you might consider filtering it if it is too hard or chlorinated)

Soak the dried konbu piece in 3-4 cups of cold water for about 20 minutes. Bring the water to a boil, then add the handful of bonito flakes. Immediately switch off the heat and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Strain through a sieve, pressing out all the goodness.

Coming Tomorrow: Chocolate Almond Toffee, Chocolate Almond Toffee Cookies, and a Giveaway!