Nagoya Chicken Sukiyaki (Nagoya Tori Suki)

From Japanese Hot Pots, a book written by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat (2009), there is a recipe titled "Nagoya Chicken Sukiyaki," which I recently tried for lunch today.

Although I liked the dish, it is not for everyone.  However, if you like the taste of miso and sake, you may enjoy this meal.  I love eating vegetables, but I also need protein from meat or tofu, so this is the perfect combination especially after a work out.  Also, you don't have to follow the recipe perfectly for it to be good either.

In addition, you don't have to eat the dish with raw egg.  Instead, you can pair it up with just rice.  I didn't add shungiku or sansho leaves either since I couldn't find it, while I also skipped out on the Spanish onion and added other green vegetabes as a substitute.  If you add soft vegetables though, I would recommend it is put in last.

Nagoya Chicken Sukiyaki

 2 cups sake
1/2 cup Hitcho miso
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (1 to 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch slices.
1/2 pound napa cabbage, sliced
1 negi, sliced on an angle into 2-inch pieces
1/2 medium Spanish onion (about 6 ounces), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/2 package (about 6 ounces) broiled tofu, cut into 4 pieces
6 ounces oyster mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart
3 1/2 ounces (100-gram package) shimeji mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart
2 cups shungiku leaves, stemmed
4 very fresh large eggs
Sansho, for accent

1.  Prepare a miso mixture by combining 1 cup of the sake, the Hatcho miso, and sugar in a bowl, whisking to blend well.  Set aside.

2.  Place a large skillet (a 12-inch cast-iron skillet is ideal) over medium heat.  Add the oil.  When the skillet is hot, add the chicken, stirring and cooking until the chicken turns golden, about 2 minutes.

3.  Push the chicken to one side of the skillet, and add the cabbage, negi, onion, tofu, oyster mushrooms, and shimeji mushrooms, arranging each ingredient in a neat, separate bunch.  Add the remaning 1 cup of the sake, and cook for 30 seconds.  Pour in the reserved miso mixture. 

4.  Increase the heat to high to bring the liquid to a boil.  Decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the shungiku leaves and simmer for 1 minute more.

5.  While the sukiyaki is simmering, crack 1 egg into each of four small bowls.  Beat the eggs.

6.  Transfer the skillet to the dining table.  Dip the ingredients into the beat egg, and eat.  Accent each bowl with the sansho.

(Ono & Salat, 2009, p. 96)