Japanese Sukiyaki Warishita Sauce and the Kanto-Kansai Hotpot Divide

Ingredients

• For the warishita (Kanto base sauce)
• 100 ml soy sauce
• 75 ml mirin
• 50 ml sake
• 25 g sugar, dissolved cold into the liquid
• For the hotpot
• 600 g wagyu beef, A4–A5 graded, sliced 2–3 mm thin; marbling essential, not decorative
• 1 block (300 g) firm cotton tofu (momen dofu), cut into large cubes
• 100 g glass noodles (harusame), soaked in cold water until pliable, drained
• 100 g fu (wheat gluten), soaked briefly in water, gently squeezed
• 1 bunch (100 g) shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), stems trimmed
• 1 piece wagyu fat or suet, for greasing the pan; reserved marbling trim is traditional
• For the dipping vessel
• 4 eggs, very fresh; lightly beaten with chopsticks in individual bowls

Method

1. 1
   Prepare the warishita. Combine 100 ml soy sauce, 75 ml mirin, 50 ml sake, and 25 g sugar in a small saucepan or jug. Stir cold until the sugar is fully dissolved — no heat is required. The sauce is ready when it runs clear and uniform, with no granules visible at the base. It may be refrigerated for up to three weeks.
2. 2
   Set a shallow iron sukiyaki pan over a table burner at medium heat. Rub the block of wagyu fat or suet across the surface of the pan, covering it in an even film. The fat is ready when it shimmers and a faint curl of smoke rises from the pan.
3. 3
   For Kanto style: pour a measured quantity of warishita into the hot pan — enough to form a shallow, simmering pool. Add the dense ingredients first: tofu cubes, fu, and glass noodles. They should sit in the broth, not be submerged. Allow them to absorb the sauce, simmering gently until the tofu is heated through and the noodles are translucent. The broth should smell of sweet soy and hold a steady, quiet simmer — not a rolling boil.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies: lay the wagyu slices into the pan in a single layer, never overlapping. Overcrowding drops the temperature and stews rather than cooks the beef. In Kansai style, sear the beef first in the fat, sprinkle sugar directly over the surface, then add soy sauce and sake in sequence, building seasoning in real time. In either tradition, the beef is done when the slices have just changed colour from crimson to pale rose at their centres — 20 to 30 seconds per side for A4–A5 wagyu at this thickness. Pull them the moment colour change is complete; residual heat continues to cook.
5. 5
   Add the shungiku in the final 30 seconds of each batch. The greens require no more than this in the hot broth. They are ready when just wilted — colour shifted to a deeper green — but before structural collapse. They must retain some form.
6. 6
   Transfer each cooked piece directly from the pan into the individual bowl of lightly beaten raw egg. Coat thoroughly and eat immediately. The residual heat of the beef gently sets the outermost layer of the egg; the interior remains raw, adding silky richness and cooling the food slightly. This is the authentic dipping vessel; no substitution preserves the dish.
7. 7
   Throughout the meal, monitor the broth level. As warishita reduces and concentrates, replenish from the reserve supply to maintain seasoning balance. Broth that has reduced too aggressively becomes bittersweet and coats the tongue unpleasantly — a correctly maintained pan holds a consistent sweet-savoury depth throughout the meal. At the meal's close, break the remaining beaten eggs into the broth and stir gently; residual heat produces a loose, concentrated egg custard from the pan.