BLOG ENTRY #02

Philippine Made Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is the national and is one of the most popular hot pot dishes in Japan. It is an incredibly healthy dish for it is low in fat and contain plenty of vegetables. Now, you can’t only just see or taste Sukiyaki in Japan, you can also see and even taste it here in the Philippines. Aside from eating Sukiyaki how Japanese do, the Philippine made Sukiyaki is also like the Japanese made Sukiyaki. It is a perfect food for family or a great food to enjoy with friends.

You can cook it in your house or just buy to the stores selling it. Sukiyaki is usually cook in a flat iron pot at the dinner table with the use of the portable gas stove and people eat it as they cook it.

If you wanted to cook Sukiyaki in your house, you must have the following ingredients:

·            1 Tbsp oil

·            1 lb beef, thinly sliced

·            4 Tbsp sugar

·            4 Tbsp soy sauce

·            2 Tbsp sake

·            1/2 Chinese cabbage (or Pechay), cut           2" width

·            2 Medium-sized carrots, cut in thin              slices

·            2 pcs. onions, cut diagonally

·            1 package tofu, cut 1" width

·            8 pcs. shiitake mushrooms

·            1 package enoki mushrooms

·            1 package Vermicelli Noodles (or Sotanghon)

If some of the ingredients are not available such as the mushrooms, you could substitute it with any vegetables.

So, after completing your ingredients, heat the pan at a medium high and add oil. Then, sear beef slices in the pan, and add sugar, soy sauce, and sake when the color of meat has started turning. Next, add the rest of the ingredients and cook about 10-15 minutes. You can adjust seasonings if you like by adding more soy sauce and sugar. The total cooking time of Sukiyaki is only around 30 minutes.

In the other hand, if you don’t want to cook it, you can buy it and eat it at the Japanese restaurants here in the Philippines like in the Ome-Ya Japanese restaurant where the Sukiyaki they serve is good for five people and is affordable. Here, they serve Sukiyaki with neatness and cooked it deliciously.

Like the group of third year students of Cavite State University – Bacoor, who ate Sukiyaki at the Ome-Ya Japanese Restaurant (see picture at the left).  Although they are six in the group, they ordered Sukiyaki that is good for five, and so they also ordered an extra rice for their one friend. They enjoyed it a lot – cooking Sukiyaki in a portable gas stove in their table, and then eating it like Japanese do, and it is perfect with the red tea as their drinks. They found it delicious and nutritious that they wanted to go back again or cook it in their houses.

People think it would be hard to cook Sukiyaki because of the beef, but it is not since the beef is sliced thinly. Also, some people put cracked raw eggs on the Sukiyaki after cooking it. You may think that it is gross to have cracked raw eggs as the ingredient in the beef with vegetables dish, however these cracked raw eggs enhance the flavor of the Sukiyaki. And because of the vegetables and the sugar as a seasoning, Sukiyaki has a sweet taste. But then, it also has soy sauce as a seasoning, which makes it sour. Thus, it has a sweet and sour taste.

Since, there is beef and other nutritious ingredients, Sukiyaki is a nutritious food with tenderness and yumminess. It is really a perfect food for families and friends. And because the Sukiyaki is made from the Philippines, it is really affordable and delicious. All you need is just buy the ingredients and cook it, or go to stores selling it, together with your family and friends for more enjoyable meal.