Simmered Beef and Tofu (Niku Dofu)

To Prepare the Ingredients

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Cut 1 onion into ½-inch (1.3-cm) wedges.
3. Cut 1 green onion/scallion into thin diagonal slices.
4. Discard the stems of 4 shiitake mushrooms and slice the caps in half.
5. Cut 1 block of 14 oz medium-firm tofu (momen dofu) in half, then cut each half into 4 slices roughly ¾ inch (2 cm) thick.
6. Cut ½ lb thinly sliced beef (chuck or ribeye) into 3- to 4-inch (7.6-10 cm) pieces.

To Cook

1. In a large frying pan, combine 1 cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 3 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix them all together and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Why do we use so little cooking liquid? Please read under the Tips section in the blog post.
2. Once the liquid is simmering, add the beef and cook until it‘s no longer pink. Keep it simmering, NOT boiling, and lower the heat if needed.
3. When the beef is no longer pink, transfer it to a plate. Using a fine-mesh skimmer, skim off the scum from the cooking liquid, if you see any.
4. Add the tofu and onion to the pan. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and let it simmer for 5–6 minutes.
5. Once in a while, shake the covered pan to coat the ingredients with the cooking liquid. Tip: If you open the lid, the moisture/cooking liquid will evaporate, so it‘s best to gently shake the pan with the lid on.
6. Move the cooked onion to the side of the pan, creating a space for the additional ingredients. Add the reserved beef back to the pan along with the shiitake mushrooms and green onion.
7. Cook for 2–3 minutes until all the ingredients are heated thoroughly. You can either serve it immediately or keep the pan covered and let it cool naturally, then reheat before serving. This extra step allows the ingredients to better absorb the flavor of the savory and sweet broth.

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can also freeze it without the tofu for up to a month. The texture of the tofu will change once frozen, so it‘s best to remove it.