After spending three days with our new granddaughter, I returned home to drizzly, dreary weather. And, we won’t see our little bit of sunshine until Sunday. So, until then we’ll have to make do with other tools to brighten our days. One way, of course, is with tasty treats and fabulous eats. With the weather being on the cool side, I thought a nice stew would fit the bill.
Glancing through my recipes, I came across this one. With the love of Asian food we have, along with the desire for something with a “warm you to your bones” attitude, I figure this one will work well.
Many folks I know, when asked if they like Japanese food, immediately think of either sushi or the last Japanese steak house they visited where the show was better than the food. I, being a lover of sushi, have no problem thinking of how much I enjoy Japanese food, but was never one to think of it as meat-and-potatoes fare. The following recipe changed my mind, but in a great way. No heavy, brick-in-your-stomach stew here! This is a light, brothy combination of beef and potatoes with other veggies and a wonderful broth. I served it over our favorite sticky rice.
The recipe is courtesy of the radio show, The Splendid Table. My family loves broth. So, although the recipe calls for a smaller amount of it, I tripled the broth ingredients to make this more of a soup. There still wasn’t enough. It was so good!
This recipe is based on a popular Japanese stewed dish called nikujaga (niku means "meat", jaga means "potato"). It's home cooking at its best, the kind of food you want to eat when you're tired or in a funk or under the weather.
Japanese Style Meat and Potatoes
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and cut on the diagonal into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger (Find fresh ginger at Masser’s Produce in the market!)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 pounds potatoes (Russets hold up well here, while Yukon Gold are my favorite), cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
Salt
2 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (optional)
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the beef and cook, stirring often and breaking up the meat, just until it's no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, and ginger and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes.
Add the wine and briskly simmer, scraping up any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, until almost evaporated. Add the potatoes, brown sugar, broth, water, and soy sauce and stir to combine. (The liquid won't quite cover the solids.) Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Check the seasonings, adding salt if needed. Serve hot or warm, sprinkled with scallions, if you like.
TIP: Ground beef that is 85 percent lean is preferable here. You can also use thinly sliced beef instead. Well-marbled cuts, such as rib eye, work best. Ground or thinly sliced pork is also an option.