Recipe • Nikujaga (Japanese style Pork and Potato stew)

Today, I'm sharing this easy stew Nikujaga (肉じゃが).
As the name suggests, Niku = Meat and Jaga = Potato. This is a Japanese home style pork and potato stew. It can (and should be) cooked beforehand, for the flavors to be absorbed into the ingredients, resulting in a umami-filled stew.
With meat and veggie all in a pot, it's perfect for working mums or on busy days! Just add a stir fried veggie or fried egg if you wish. 😊 

Ingredients:

1/2TBS Oil

150-200gm, about 1/2 pkt of frozen Sukiyaki Pork Belly (cut half)

1 yellow Onion (cut into 8-10 wedges)

2 small Carrots (cut into wedges)

1 big russet Potato (cut into 8-10 pieces,soak in water to remove excess starch)

40gm はるさめ Harusame, about 1/2 a pkt (Note 2)

Handful of frozen Edamame

Stock:

120ml CP Clear Chicken Broth Concentrate

250ml Water

120ml Dashi stock

Add water and dashi stock to chicken broth and mix well.

Seasoning:

1TBS Light Soy Sauce

4TBS Mirin

4TBS Sake

3/4TBS Sugar

Method:

•Heat a cooking pot/ deep pan with about 1/2TBS of oil, add in onion wedges & fry till well coated.

•Put in pork belly & fry till no pink.

•Add carrots & potatoes in arranged manner and pour in prepared stock. Make sure the ingredients are covered in the stock and bring to a boil.

•Mix seasoning in a bowl & pour into the pot when the stew starts to boil.

•Do not stir the ingredients.

•Cover the ingredients with otoshibuta (Note 1) to ensure even cooking.

•Lower flame to simmer for 20mins.
•Add harusame & allow it to soften in the hot stew, about 2mins. (Skip this step if the stew is cooked in advance.)

•Discard otoshibuta, off the fire and cover with lid. Let the flavors be absorbed for at least 30mins before serving.

•Meanwhile, heat a small pot of water & add edamame to boiling water. Cook for about 4mins, transfer to cool water. Pop edamame & discard pods. Add edamame to stew for a touch of green before serving.

**Reheat the stew (if it was cooked way before serving). Adjust the gravy amount if needed by adding more dashi stock or water with some light soy sauce. Add harusame at this point instead of earlier on. Edamame can be added now too.

Enjoy this bowl of warm,comforting stew!

⚠️ Note:

1) Otoshibuta is a wooden lid that helps circulate heat in the stew, hence there's no need to stir while cooking. It's possible to make a disposable otoshibuta, using aluminium foil. Click here for full instructions.

2) はるさめ (Harusame) is a type of Japanese noodles that's transparent,also known as 春雨. It's available at major Japanese marts. I bought mine at TokuTokuya (AMK).