Sukiyaki-Japanese hot pot-style soup

Sukiyaki-Japanese hot pot-style soup

I came across the word “sukiyaki” in one of my cookbooks. The recipe looked easy. Just one problem… some ingredients were totally out of my reach!!! So, I did some “googling” to find out substitutes. Oh God! I felt so intimidated even reading about sukiyaki… After some time I thought I should never attempt to make such a fine delicacy.  But some part of this dish was so novel and appealing. The basic process was- make a simple broth, cook some noodles, meat, vegetables and even an egg…  Put it all in serving plate and top with the yummy stock and splurge!!! Of course, with some changes, this has to be easy…  So, I plucked up some courage and dived in. I am so happy I made it even though it will not scale up to the Japanese standards. It worked so well for us. Every one of us licked our plate clean. Healthy, easy and filling… what more do you want your food to be?

If you have precooked meat and sautéed mushroom in freezer, this becomes a 10 minute dinner! Mushrooms keep very well in freezer if cooked. I have used capsicum/bell pepper along with spring onion here. You can use spinach or watercress in place of capsicum. Slice or chop the vegetables and set aside.

Boil enough water in saucepan to cover the noodles. Take off the flame and soak noodles for 5 minutes and then drain. Heat a tablespoon butter in the wok. Cook the chicken first and slice: or, slice it thin and then stir fry in the wok. Stir fry the mushroom over high heat and remove.  Arrange the noodles, meat and vegetables in your soup bowl or a plate. 

To make the sauce, Heat one tablespoon butter in a stock pot and stir fry the capsicum and spring onion for a minute. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl, add to the stockpot and bring to a simmer. Crack one egg into a bowl and slowly add to the simmering sauce. Repeat for all eggs. Cook eggs to your desired doneness. We cooked for 5 minutes. Ladle one egg each to the serving platter. Top with the sauce and serve hot.