Japanese beef and potato stew with konnyaku noodle

>> Tuesday, October 26, 2010


As strange as it may sound, for the past few weeks I've been feeling like an alien (not the glowing green type) in a foreign land. I might as well as have moved to a country whose name I can't even spell. Like Kazakhstan (spelt with the assistance of Google autocomplete of course.)

Raining...but at least I have an umbrella!
Everywhere I went, I looked for 'familiarity' and found little of it.

In the supermarket, the brands of my usual staples like milk and eggs are different (who would've thought that those everyday items are different even one state away!) No big deal obviously. Changes are good.
Coffee at Brunetti on my first day in Melbourne!
Then on Thursday night, I strolled around the city confused as to why the shops were closed before 6pm. Isn't it late night shopping? Nope, it's Friday. Seriously, who goes shopping on a Friday night? (Ok, I did...after I found out).

Then there's the train which is incredibly unstable and literally shook me off my seat. And I also learnt that the train doors don't open automatically. On my first week here, I missed a train because I stood in front of a door waiting for it to open and before I could comprehend what was happening, the train started moving again! I guess this is more silliness on my part ;)

There is something deeply romantic about a flower shop on a rainy day. Don't you think?
Maybe it is also because I've moved into a different industry...away from all the computer geeks and into research where people in the office spam my inbox with abbreviations as long as a strand of the human genome. Ok not really. But initially it was strange not to see people in their pin-stripped uniform and a mouthful of corporate buzz-words.

And so I did come up with ways just to find that feeling of familiarity - a smell, a sight, a sound, a taste or a prayer. I found it in a few places. And one of them is my kitchen. My food. My food seems to taste the same everywhere I go. 

This Japanese beef and potato stew with konnyaku noodle (to replace my usual Chinese noodles) tastes the same as the version I grew up with. The simple sweet soy broth with tender (and fatty!) beef, hearty vegetables and the slightly chewy strands of this healthy konnyaku noodle is best eaten curled up on the couch while you watch a movie on T.V you've seen a few times already. 

Ahhh, the familiarity of it all!


Japanese beef and potato stew with konnyaku noodle
Adapted from MASA

Ingredients
  • 200g beef, sliced thinly (I used wagyu beef)
  • 500g Potato, peeled and chopped roughly (although I chopped into cubes to shorten cooking time)
  • 100g Carrots, chopped any way you like
  • 1 tomato (optional)
  • 300g Onions, sliced thinly
  • 5 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp cooking sake
  • 1.5 tbsp mirin
  • 1 packet of konnyaku noodle (from Japanese/Asian grocery stores)
1. Boil the konnyaku noodle into a pot of hot water for around 2 minutes.

2. In a big pot, add a splash of cooking oil and put in your meat slices.

3. Add the konnyaku from step 1 as well as the onions into the pot and stir around the pot for a few minutes.


4. Add the potatoes, carrots as well as the tomatoes and stir around the pot. Then add into the pot around half a litre of water.

5. Turn the gas up to High and bring to boil for 2-3 minutes. Then turn down the heat before you add in the sauces (soy, mirin, sake and sugar).

6. Put a lid over the pot and cook until the water/stock has reduced and the potatoes/carrots are soft and cooked through.


11 comments:

Zoe October 27, 2010 at 9:10 AM  

Nice noodles...great for rainy days!

chocolatesuze October 27, 2010 at 9:54 AM  

hope all is going well with your new adventure and i totes agree with you about rainy days and florists <3

Anonymous,  October 27, 2010 at 10:29 AM  

That looks yum! I shall add that to my list of things to cook.

And hang in there Viv! Melbourne will become familiar soon enough. Am praying for you =)

hy

Debs @ DKC October 27, 2010 at 7:44 PM  

Hi Viv, great recipe! Thanks, my kinda comfort food.

Julie October 27, 2010 at 8:42 PM  

*hugs* i miss you :(!!!!


which konnyaku noodle ? did you use? The one i brought fails :(

Joanne October 27, 2010 at 10:27 PM  

I felt similarly after I moved back to NYC from Boston. Even though I lived in Queens all my life (a borough just outside Manhattan), moving to Manhattan felt quite alien. It's good to find familiar in the unfamiliar though. Or to create it. That's why this soup sounds just perfect.

Viv October 27, 2010 at 11:03 PM  

Zoe: Yep for sure :P

chocolatesuze: thanks...all is well with new adventure :) yea i think ppl should buy flowers for their loved ones on rainy days.

HY: thank you <3 i know...soon enough...ill be a local here hehe

Debs: thanks! one of my comfort food too!

Julz: *hugs back* hmm i used one with japanese writings on it hehehe. sorry i dont recall the brand...but its made in japan if that helps? (but then i guess they all are!) what do u mean fail? as in tastes bad?

Joanna: yeah very soon the unfamiliar will be familiar... :) thanks for your lovely message :)

Dolly October 28, 2010 at 6:47 PM  

hmmm i need soemthing nice and healtyh =)

looks very refreshing for summer.. or it could look like a japanese version of Pho LOL

Deborah October 30, 2010 at 7:14 AM  

it's always hard to get used to a new place!! This stew looks delicious and comforting.

janke November 8, 2010 at 1:20 PM  

visitor of your website i will share it with my friends..replica watches|
Thanks.

Anonymous,  May 23, 2011 at 9:41 AM  

Have you ever tried making Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup?? I've been trying to find a good recipe. Here's one recipe I found: http://www.noodlefever.com/2010/01/niu-rou-mian-spicy-beef-noodle-soup.html

I would love to hear your opinion!

(Thanks for the reply!)

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