Weeb home cooking - nikujaga/meat and potato stew (recipe notes in post )

Nikujaga is an unpretentious Japanese-western fusion dish- literally just standard meat and potato stew with japanese seasoning plus some meme noodles thrown in.

I had this made for me and it was so good that I tried making it a couple weeks later. The base recipe is pretty okay and it's easy for anyone to make, but here are some modifications and notes if you do try making it:

• Non-negotiable: imo the base recipe without bonito stock/katsuo dashi is a overly-sweet stew; the reason I liked it initially is because of the subtle smokiness imparted by katsuobushi (dried tuna flakes). If you do make it, add a packet of katsuo dashi and/or use a liquid stock like so in replacement of the soy sauce (if you do use liquid stock then add soy sauce to taste if the stew isn't strong enough and cut back on the sugar- I learned my lesson with the sugar). The liquid stock is actually really good for making things taste like authentic sugoi nipponesu food. I added both the liquid stock and a packet of dashi to mine (I think the person who made it for me did the same), but if you use the liquid stock, you can decide whether or not to add a dashi packet far into the cooking process based on whether you want the stew to taste more bonito-y.

• Next time I'll add smaller amounts of sugar gradually instead of stirring a tbsp+ into the sake/mirin/soy sauce mixture, or omit the sugar entirely. The base recipe is very sweet for western tastes and doubly so if you're using a liquid stock.

• Try to get shirataki noodles/konnyaku noodles in little knots/bundles like so. The western italianx pasta-replacement ones will probably ruin the texture and you may as well omit them entirely.

• This recipe was made with thin-sliced pork belly in mind; if you're using thick (i.e. superior) slices then you should cut them into chunks and braise them in the stipulated amount of water (with a dashi packet if using) for about an hour to make it tender, then add everything else (sauté the vegetables as instructed in the recipe on a separate pan and throw them in with the rest of the ingredients) and simmer until the potatoes are cooked to your liking. If you do it this way, you may need to top off the water at some point since more cook time = more evaporation.

• Letting the potato overcook a bit and thicken the broth really furthers the comfort food sensation imo. I used some less floury spare potatoes in my attempt and it's not as good.

• A small pot apparently works fine for the proportions in the base recipe. I only used a large pot because I doubled the servings.

• I haven't tried it yet, but apparently it's standard to add a curry brick to the leftovers.

edit: The original recipe is:

Ingredients

1. 12 oz (2 packages) shirataki noodles or fresh ramen noobles

2. 1/3 cup soy sauce

3. 1/3 cup mirin

4. 1/3 cup sake

5. 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar

6. 2 tsp vegetable oil

7. 8 oz thinly sliced pork belly

8. 1 medium onion, sliced thin

9. 2 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

10. 2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 in pieces

Steps

1. if using shirataki noodles rinse them in a colander, bring some water to a boil, then pour over the noobles to get rid of the weird smell

2. combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a bowl along with 2.5 cups water; whisk to dissolve the sugar

3. heat a large pot over medium-high heat, then add vegetable oil. add pork belly and cook until the fat has rendered (don't wait for the fat to render if you're using thick-cut i.e. superior slices, just brown them), about 4 mins

4. add onion and cook until they soften, about 4 mins, then add carrot and potato and cook for another 3 mins.

5. pour the mixture in the bowl into the pot, add the shirataki noodles if using, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 20 mins or until the potatoes are cooked through

6. if using fresh ramen instead, add them to the pot about 3 mins before serving

7. serve