Nikujaga

Nikujaga is a type of dish known in Japan as yoshoku, or a Western-influenced recipe. It's a Japanese spin on classic beef stew; the name literally means "meat and potatoes." My version nudges it a little bit back toward its Western roots, with cubed beef chuck (or, if beef is pricey, pork shoulder) cooked low and slow, and lots of potatoes. It's great winter comfort food.

NIKUJAGA
1 lb. chuck roast (or pork shoulder), cut in cubes
Vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced or diced
1 small piece fresh ginger, cut in matchsticks
2 cloves minced garlic
4-5 cups dashi stock or water
2 lbs. waxy potatoes*, peeled and cut in large chunks
2 T. sugar
3 T. sake or cooking sherry
1 T. mirin
3 T. soy sauce
1 t. dark sesame oil
A handful of frozen peas (optional)
Chopped green onions to garnish
White rice

In a large saucepan, sear meat in oil, then saute with medium onion, ginger and garlic. Add dashi or water to cover and cook on medium-low heat until meat is tender.

Add potatoes. If needed, add dashi stock to cover, then add sugar, sake, mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a boil, drop in a lid that's smaller than the pot (to encourage evaporation) and simmer over medium-low heat until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed and the potatoes have turned golden. If using peas, defrost under hot water and toss in near the end of cook time. Garnish generously with green onions and serve with white rice. (You get extra points if you say "Itadakimasu!" before digging in.)

Serves, I dunno, 4 to 6.

Source: Soozcat

* Red potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, etc. are "waxy." They hold their shape better as they absorb the cooking liquid. Russet potatoes, which are considered "floury," will turn to gloopy mush in this dish.

Swiss Steak

Dan told me he NEEDED this recipe. I told him his wish was my command.
One call to Mom later...

SWISS STEAK
1 round steak, 2 to 3 pounds
seasoned flour (add some salt, pepper and garlic powder to about a half-cup of flour)
2 T. oil
2 or 3 onions, coarsely chopped
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1-2 bay leaves

Cut round steak into serving-sized pieces and dredge both sides in seasoned flour. In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil until it is hot. Add pieces of steak, browning well on both sides. After all pieces are browned, spread onions over the steak in the pan. Add water (enough to barely cover the meat), the soup mix and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1½ to 2 hours or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the skillet (and adding extra water if necessary).

[It has been my sad experience that if you keep on cooking after the meat is tender, you will end up with what Curtis calls "Swiss," since the steak sorta breaks up and disappears into the gravy. Don't let this happen to you.]

To serve, transfer the meat and onions to a serving bowl, thicken the pan juices to make gravy (a little cornstarch and water works well) and pour the gravy over the meat. Goes well with mashed potatoes and a cooked green veggie.

Variation: This recipe makes Swiss steak with brown gravy. If you want Swiss steak with red gravy, substitute some of the volume of the water with a can of plain diced tomatoes.

Probably serves 6, because most of our family recipes serve 6.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Borscht

Auntie Marcia's recipe. It's nummy good, oh my yes. By the way, did you know that "borscht" just means "soup" in Russian?

BORSCHT
2½ lb. stew meat with bones
1 bunch beets, cleaned and quartered (about 1 lb. total)
1 large onion, chopped
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, or to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon pepper
2 quarts water
½ bottle red wine*
3 lb. cabbage, shredded
sour cream
dill weed, to taste (optional)

*Non-drinkers: remember, this is going to simmer a while; all that will be left is flavor.

In a large soup pot, brown stew meat. Combine all ingredients except cabbage, sour cream and (optional) dill, bring to boil, then turn heat down to a simmer, cover and cook about 2 hours or until the meat is tender. During the last hour of cooking, add cabbage to pot. Fish out the bones before serving if you want to be all refined. (Or don't. It's your soup, man.) Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl and, if you like it, a sprinkling of freshly-chopped dill weed.

Serves lots.

Contributor: Marcia Hetzler