View source for Sukiyaki

{{Short description|Japanese hot pot dish}}
{{about|the food|the Kyu Sakamoto song|Sukiyaki (song)|other uses|Sukiyaki (disambiguation)}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2009}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox prepared food
|name             = Sukiyaki
|image            = Sukiyaki 01.jpg
|caption          = 
|alternate_name   = 
|country          = [[Japan]]
|region           = [[East Asia]]
|creator          = 
|course           = 
|type             = [[Hot pot]]
|served           = 
|main_ingredient  = [[Meat]] (usually thinly sliced [[beef]]), [[vegetable]]s, [[soy sauce]], [[sugar]], and [[mirin]]
|variations       = 
|calories         = 
|other            = 
}}
[[File:Sukiyaki 001.jpg|thumb|Sukiyaki beef in raw egg]]
[[File:Sukiyaki 03.jpg|thumb|Sliced cuts of beef in soy sauce-based hotpot]]
[[File:Sukiyaki123.jpg|thumb|Ingredients of sukiyaki]]
[[File:Shabusai Bell Mall Utsunomiya branch 2018-07-13.jpg|thumb|Japanese Shabu-shabu restaurant]]
{{nihongo|'''Sukiyaki'''|鋤焼||or more commonly {{lang|ja|すき焼き}}; {{IPAc-ja|su|*|ki|ya|ki}}}} is a [[Japanese cuisine|Japanese dish]] that is prepared and served in the ''[[nabemono]]'' (Japanese [[hot pot]]) style.

It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of [[soy sauce]], [[sugar]], and [[mirin]]. The ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten [[egg (food)|eggs]] after being cooked in the pot, and then eaten.

Generally sukiyaki is a [[winter]] dish and it is commonly found at ''[[bōnenkai]]'', [[Japan]]ese year-end parties.

==Ingredients==
{{unsourcedsection|date=February 2025}}
Thinly sliced [[beef]] is usually used for sukiyaki, although in the past, in certain parts of the country (notably [[Hokkaido]] and [[Niigata Prefecture|Niigata]]) pork was also popular.

Popular ingredients cooked with the beef are:
*[[Tofu]] (usually seared firm tofu).
*''[[Allium fistulosum|Negi]]'' (a type of [[scallion]]).
*Leafy vegetables, such as [[Chinese cabbage]] and [[shungiku]] ([[garland chrysanthemum]] leaves).
*Mushrooms, such as [[shiitake]] and [[enokitake]].
*[[Cellophane noodles|Glass noodles]] made out of [[konnyaku]] or [[corm]], such as [[ito konnyaku]], or [[shirataki noodles]].

Boiled wheat [[udon]] or [[mochi]] (rice-cakes) are sometimes added, usually at the end to soak up the broth.

==Preparation==
Sukiyaki is a one-pot dish (''[[nabemono]]'') that was developed during the [[Meiji era]]. Different regions have different ways of preparing sukiyaki. There are two main styles, the [[Kantō region|Kanto]] style from eastern Japan and [[Kansai region|Kansai]] style from western Japan.

In the Kanto style, [[warishita]] (a mixture of sake, soy sauce, sugar, mirin and dashi) is poured and heated in a pot, then meat, vegetables and other ingredients are added and simmered together. In Kansai-style sukiyaki, meat is heated in the pot first. When the meat is almost cooked, sugar, sake and soy sauce are added, then vegetables and other ingredients are added last.

The vegetables and meat used are different between the two styles. Because beef was expensive in the past, the use of pork was common in northern and eastern regions. Other ingredients added to modern sukiyaki include chicken (''tori-suki''), fish (''uo-suki'' or ''oki-suki''), [[udon|udon noodles]] (''udon-suki''), [[welsh onion|negi]], shiitake mushrooms, [[shirataki]] and slightly grilled tofu. In both styles, raw eggs are used as a dipping sauce and steamed rice with black sesame seeds is served.<ref name="sushiandsake.net">{{cite web|url=https://hk.sushiandsake.net/special/food/detail_11|title=壽喜燒; 日本和食指南 - Japan Trend Ranking|work=sushiandsake.net|access-date=2017-09-19|archive-date=2017-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705034826/https://hk.sushiandsake.net/special/food/detail_11|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
{{sources|section|date=April 2016}}
One theory for the origin of the name is that it derives from the words {{nihongo|''suki''|鋤}}, which means [[spade]], and {{nihongo|''yaki''|焼き}}, which is the verb "to [[grilling|grill]]". During the [[Edo period]] (1603–1868), farmers used  suki to cook things like fish and tofu. However, sukiyaki became a traditional Japanese dish during the [[Meiji era]] (1868–1912). Another theory is that the name comes from the word {{nihongo |sukimi|剥き身}}, which means "thinly sliced meat".<ref name="sushiandsake.net"/> 

==History==
{{sources|section|date=April 2016}}
Buddhism was introduced to Japan during the [[Asuka period]].<ref name= BuddhaNet.net>{{cite web|url= http://www.buddhanet.net/nippon/nippon_partI.html|title=Japanese Buddhism: Part 1-A Brief History of Buddhism in Japan|work=Buddha Net |access-date=2017-09-19}}</ref> At that time, killing animals was against Buddhist law. Also eating beef was prohibited since cattle were considered work animals. However, people could eat meat under some special circumstances, such as when they were sick, or at special events, like [[bōnenkai]], the year-end drinking party. During the Edo period, eating game, such as boar and duck, was common and not forbidden. In the 1860s, when Japan opened its ports to foreign merchants, foreigners who came to Japan introduced the culture of eating meat and new cooking styles. Cows, milk, meat, and eggs became widely used, and sukiyaki was a popular way to serve them. At first, cattle were imported from neighboring countries like Korea and China as the demand for beef increased. Sukiyaki possibly originated and became popular in the Kansai region. Following the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]], many beef restaurants in Tokyo were closed and many people in Kantō temporarily moved to the Osaka area.  While the people of Kantō were in Osaka, they got accustomed to the Kansai style of sukiyaki, and when they returned to Kantō, they introduced the Kansai sukiyaki style, where it has since become popular. Beef is the primary ingredient in today's sukiyaki.<ref name="sushiandsake.net"/>

Sukiyaki became prominent in U.S. Japanese restaurants by the 1930s.<ref name=Faries>{{cite web|last=Faries|first=Dave|url=https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/food_wine/sushi-is-everywhere-that-can-obscure-other-all-star-japanese-dishes/article_632ba764-4ffe-11ed-8f13-337c4c8855d6.html|title=Sushi is everywhere. That can obscure other all-star Japanese dishes.|newspaper=[[Monterey County Weekly]]|date=2022-10-20|accessdate=2023-05-30}}</ref> In 1959, food writer for the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' [[Craig Claiborne]] wrote that the dish was among the four most requested recipes the newspaper had received over the previous year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lovegren |first=Sylvia |title=Fashionable Foods: Seven Decades of Food Fads |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-226-49407-1 |edition=University of Chicago Press 2005 |pages=318}}</ref> It was among the four most requested recipes to the ''New York Times''.

In 1978 W.L. Taitte stated in ''[[Texas Monthly]]'' that sukiyaki was "the most famous but hardly the most characteristic Japanese dish."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Taitte|first=W.L.|title=If You Knew Sushi|magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|date=April 1979|publisher=[[Emmis Communications]]|volume=7|issue=4|issn=0148-7736|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7C0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 134]-}} - Cited: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7C0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA139 139].</ref> By the 1980s, in the U.S., sukiyaki was becoming obscure as sushi became more prominent.<ref name=Faries/>

==Trivia==
The 1961 song "Ue wo Muite Arukō" was given the alternative title "[[Sukiyaki (song)|Sukiyaki]]" so that it could be short and recognizably Japanese in English-speaking countries. Despite the title, the lyrics have no connection to sukiyaki.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits|last=Bronson|first=Fred|publisher=Billboard Books|year=2003|isbn=0-8230-7677-6|pages=1311}}</ref>

Swedish comedian and singer [[Povel Ramel]] wrote a song, the "Sukiyaki Syndrome", wherein the restaurant customer wants sukiyaki. There are a number of variations, each with a description so long that by the time he orders any of them, the restaurant has run out.

==Related dishes==
*[[Shabu-shabu]] is similar, but whereas sukiyaki is considered sweeter, shabu-shabu is more savory. Shabu-shabu meat is even more thinly sliced and the individual slices of meat are cooked by dipping them into simmering liquid at the table, while sukiyaki is cooked in a more casserole style.<ref>[http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/shabu-shabu-recipe-1953244 Food Network] Retrieved 2017-09-19.</ref><ref>[http://www.justonecookbook.com/sukiyaki/ Sukiyaki] Retrieved 2017-09-19.</ref>
*Sukiyaki in Laos takes the form of a bowl of bean thread noodles, various vegetables, thinly sliced beef and other meats or seafood, sukiyaki sauce, and a raw egg in beef broth. The sukiyaki sauce is made from coconut, fermented tofu, tahini, peanut butter, sugar, garlic, lime, and spices. 
*[[Thai suki]] or ''Thai sukiyaki'' is a very popular [[hotpot]] dish in [[Thailand]] and its vicinity.   
*[[Hotpot]]
*[[Fondue#Broth|Fondue Bourguignonne and fondue chinoise]]

==See also==
*[[List of Japanese soups and stews]]
*[[Gyūdon]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category}}
{{cookbook|Sukiyaki}}
* ''A Taste of Japan'', Donald Richie, [[Kodansha]], 2001. {{ISBN|4-7700-1707-3}}.

{{Japanese food and drink}}

[[Category:Japanese beef dishes]]
[[Category:Japanese soups and stews]]
[[Category:Table-cooked dishes]]
[[Category:Hot pot]]