Sukiyaki
Instructions:
- A great dish for table-top cooking. An electric frypan makes a suitable cooking utensil.
- 1 kg (2 lb) Scotch fillet or other tender, well-marbled beef;
- 125 g (4 oz) fresh shiitake mushrooms, halved, or 12 dried shiitake mushrooms;
- 100 g (3½ oz) bean thread vermicelli;
- 12 spring onions, cut into bite-sized lengths;
- 2 medium-sized white onions, cut into eighths;
- 1 small white Chinese cabbage, sliced;
- 1 small can winter bamboo shoots, drained and thinly sliced;
- vegetable oil for greasing pan;
- 500 ml (16 fl oz/2 cups) beef stock;
- Japanese soy sauce (shoyu);
- sugar;
- sake.
- Place the beef in the freezer until semi-frozen so it is easy to slice very thinly.
- If using dried shiitake mushrooms, soak for 30 minutes in enough hot water to cover. Drain and add 250 ml (8 fl oz/1 cup) of the soaking liquid to the beef stock. (If using fresh mushrooms, just add water.)
- Cook the bean thread vermicelli in boiling water for 10 minutes, drain and cut into short lengths.
- Arrange the beef, spring onions, mushrooms, onions, cabbage and bamboo shoots on a serving platter, with the vermicelli in a bowl. Have the oil, stock, shoyu, sugar and sake close at hand as they will be needed for cooking the sukiyaki.
- Heat the frying pan and lightly oil the cooking surface. Add half of each kind of vegetable and fry, stirring, on high heat for a couple of minutes. Push to one side of the pan and add the beef in one layer. After 1 minute, turn and cook the other side. Sprinkle with shoyu, sugar and sake according to taste. Add some stock to moisten all the meat and vegetables. Mix in the noodles and heat through. Serve immediately, with each person helping themselves from the pan. Turn off the heat until this has been eaten. When diners are ready for second helpings, heat the pan again and repeat the procedure. Steamed rice may be offered with sukiyaki.