Japanese Braised Beef and Potatoes

My husband is a huge fan of Japanese food - partly because he lived in Japan for two years where he got to try all kinds of authentic Japanese dishes - and this braised beef and potatoes dish is absolutely one of his very favorites! He usually fixes it but he was at work and I wanted to let him know that I, too, can make it as good as he can. I think he was impressed because he went for a second, or was it a third, I forget. It was good. Typically, you may not find this dish at your local Japanese food restaurant but it is pretty authentic and original. Koreans also have something similar to this. They usually use short ribs for the meat. I will have to make it sometime and post the recipe on here. Anyway, I added some sweet potatoes to this recipe which added sweetness to this wonderful dish.

Japanese Braised Beef and Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs tritip or flank steak beef, thinly sliced
1 large potato
1 sweet potato
1/2 onion, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 tablespoon salad oil

Simmering stock:
2 cups water
3 tablespoon sake
3 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon mirin
3 tablespoon soy sauce
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Sesame seeds

Direction:

Potatoes-
The easy way to peel the potatoes is to cut them in advance.
1) Brush under runnng water washing mud away.
2) Remove the eyes and spoiled parts with the edge of a knife.
3) Cut into 8-16 portions (depending on the size of a potato), a little larger than bite-sized pieces.
4) Peel and soak immediately in water. Wash briefly and drain in a colander.

Sliced beef-
Place 2-3 slices together and cut into bite-sized pieces. Separate the pieces.

Heat oil in non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and coat with oil, separating with chopsticks. Reduce heat to medium and brown the beef, stirring.

When the beef changes color, add the onion and potatoes. Saute, stirring with a wooden spatula.

In a medium sized bowl, stir all the simmering stock ingredients together except sesame seeds. Add the stock into the pan and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Lower the heat to simmer and cover with a drop lid, about 10 minutes. When the liquid is reduced to one-third, hold the handles of the pan with both hands and shake it, turning to ingredients upside down to coat evenly.

Braise over high heat, slanting the pan until the liquid has been absorbed. Transfer to a flat container and spread. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.