Continuing on with my theme of only needing 1 special ingredient in homestyle Japanese cooking even midwesterners can love, I give you…Mick Jagger. Okay, so it’s not really called Mick Jagger..it’s pronounced “nick jaga”, but I’ve thought of it as Mick Jagger for the past 20 years. The special ingredient you need is dashi broth. That’s the broth made of combination of fish and konbu seaweed. You can buy it in handy little packets at any asian food store or on Amazon. I send you to Nami’s Just One Cookbook site for the classic take on Niku Jyaga that involves thinly sliced beef. But since I don’t eat beef, I use chicken. You could use pork or beef or whatever.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, cut in to wedges
5oz (140grams) boneless pork loin (or chicken breast) sliced thin
1 small carrot, cut into wedges
2 medium potatoes, pared and quartered
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon sake (or dry sherry)
1 cup Japanese dashi broth
about 1/4 cup green peas or snow peas cut in half
Stir-fry the onion, meat, carrot, potatoes, and ginger in vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Combine the sugar, soy sauce, sake, and dashi broth in a mixing bowl and add to the pork and vegetables. Continue to cook over low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed and the vegetables tender. Add the green peas or snow peas and cook a few minutes more, or until the peas are tender. Serve hot with plain rice.
What I Should Have Said 