Recipes - Nikujaga + Chicken Salad with Yoko

Equipment

• 1 pot

• 1 knife

• 1 cutting board

• 1 vegetable peeler

Ingredients

Nikujaga and Chicken and Cucumber Salad
Serves 2

Nikujaga

• 200 grams (0.5 pounds) of thin-sliced beef (best to use fattier beef rather than lean cut)

• 4 small potatoes

• 1 carrot

• 1 onion

• 300ml (1.5 cups) of water or dashi water

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 tablespoon of sugar or Mirin

• 1 tablespoon of cooking sake or white wine

Chicken and Cucumber Salad

• 1 chicken breast

• 1 cucumber

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 2 tablespoons tahini

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon water

Recipe

Cook the chicken.

Boil a small pot of water (about 100mL/0.5cups) - just enough to cover and poach the chicken). Separate any skin from chicken to include in the boiling water too.

“Butterfly” cut the chicken by slicing the thicker part of the breast to open it. Add 1 tsp salt to boiling water. When the water boils, add chicken to the water. Simmer over medium for ~15 min.

Prepare the stew ingredients.

Peel 1 carrot and 4 small potatoes. Once peeled, cut potatoes & carrots into about 1/2 to 1inch pieces (bite-sized).
*Ensure that the chicken is completely submerged in boiling water.

Cut and peel individual layers of the onion; separate into 1-inch pieces. All the vegetables should be about the same size.

Check on the chicken. If cooked (165F interior temp), then turn off the burner and leave the chicken in water.

Cook the nikujaga (stew).

To prepare the beef, trim into 1-to-2-inch strips. Take your large soup pot w/ lid and heat over medium heat. Add the oil and fry the meat. Stir-fry/cook beef until browned on the outside. When beef is cooked, add the potatoes and carrots.

“Coat” the vegetables in the oil from the beef. After stirring the vegetables and beef for 1 minute, add 300mL/1 1/4 cups of water INCLUDING the remaining water from the boiling chicken.

Bring beef, water, and vegetables to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer and skim-off the “scum” or extra layer that collects on the top of the water. Simmer soup for ~15minutes.

Last, add the onion to the simmering soup. Remove chicken from the pot & let cool before shredding.

Prepare the chicken and cucumber salad.

Next, prepare cucumber by finding a rolling pin or sturdy bottle. SMASH the cucumber. Create “rough” broken pieces of cucumber that will be about 1-1.5inches big.

When chicken is a touchable temperature (not too hot, caution!), shred it with your hands into 1-1.5inch pieces, about the same as the cucumber.

Check on Nikujaga: test to see if the potatoes & carrots are soft. Once soft, they are done. If they need more time, they can cook while the salad is being made.

Mix tahini paste very well before measuring. Mix in a bowl 2 tablespoons tahini, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon sugar. *If too thick, you may add an additional 1 tbsp of water just in case.

Sprinkle a little salt over the cucumber and chicken and massage the salt in (about 1 tsp). Combine the chicken and cucumber with the dressing— the salad is complete!

Season The Soup.

Add 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of sugar or Mirin, and 1 tablespoon of cooking sake/ white wine to the Nikujaga soup. Set soup over medium heat again to cook the seasonings all together. Enjoy!

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