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1
Combine the shoyu, mirin, sugar, and dashi in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat. The warishita is ready when it smells balanced — soy, sweetness, and the gentle breath of mirin — with no raw alcohol edge.
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2
Set a cast-iron sukiyaki pan on a portable butane stove at the table. Bring the pan to medium heat. Pour in the warishita to a depth that will just submerge the first ingredients — reserve the remainder for replenishment. The sauce should shimmer and emit a low, steady simmer; a rolling boil drives off the balanced sweetness.
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3
Add the nappa cabbage, tofu, shirataki, spring onion, and fu to the simmering warishita. These ingredients tolerate longer cooking and will absorb the sauce. They are ready when the cabbage is just tender at its thickest rib and the tofu has taken on colour at its edges — sight and a gentle prod confirm this.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Add the wagyu slices in a single, uncrowded layer — never stack the beef. Work in batches if necessary. The fat begins rendering within seconds; turn each slice once, and remove it the moment both faces lose their raw colour. Thin-sliced A4–A5 wagyu requires only seconds per side: overcooking destroys its texture and wastes the intramuscular fat that gives the sauce its extraordinary depth.
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5
Monitor the liquid level throughout. When the sauce reduces and concentrates, replenish with a small measure of sake or dashi to restore correct volume and salinity. Taste: the warishita should remain sweet-savoury and glossy, never salt-sharp or cloyingly thick.
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6
Each diner beats a raw egg in their own small bowl tableside. Every piece of beef, vegetable, or tofu is lifted from the pan and drawn through the egg before eating. The egg's unctuousness coats the piece, moderating the intense sweet-savoury heat of the warishita. The dip is not garnish; it is a structural element of the dish.