Sukiyaki Kanto vs Kansai Style Beef Hot Pot

Ingredients

• For the warishita (Kanto style)
• 150 ml dashi
• 100 ml soy sauce
• 100 ml mirin
• 100 ml sugar, or to taste; standard 3:2:2:2 ratio with dashi
• For the Kansai direct seasoning
• 60 ml soy sauce, poured directly onto sizzling meat in stages
• 2 tbsp sugar, scattered directly onto beef in pan
• 60 ml sake, added for steam and to refresh the pan
• 600 g Wagyu beef, A4 or A5 grade, sliced 1–2 mm thin
• 300 g firm tofu, cut into large cubes
• 200 g konnyaku, sliced
• 1 stalk burdock (gobo), shaved or thinly sliced on the bias
• 200 g shirataki noodles, rinsed
• 200 g shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), stems trimmed
• For dipping
• 4 eggs, raw, one per diner, beaten in individual small bowls
• For the shimedge
• 400 g udon noodles, cooked and cold, added at meal's close

Method

1. 1
   Kanto method — prepare the warishita: combine dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a 3:2:2:2 ratio in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. The liquid should smell balanced — sweet and savoury in equal measure, neither sugar nor soy dominant.
2. 2
   Set a cast-iron sukiyaki pan over a portable burner at the table. For Kanto style, pour in enough warishita to cover the base of the pan by roughly 1 cm and bring it to a gentle simmer. For Kansai style, heat the dry iron pan until a drop of water evaporates on contact — no liquid is added at this stage.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies: for Kanto, lay the first Wagyu slices in the simmering warishita and cook 10–15 seconds per side — the fat renders instantly into the liquid, the meat changes from deep red to just-set pink at the centre. For Kansai, lay the Wagyu directly on the dry hot iron; scatter sugar over the meat immediately, then pour soy sauce in a thin stream across the sizzling slices and add a splash of sake for a burst of steam; turn after 10–15 seconds. At either moment, the beef is ready the instant no raw red remains on the exposed upper surface.
4. 4
   Each diner lifts a hot beef slice directly from the pan and dips it briefly into their bowl of beaten raw egg. The egg partially sets on contact with the hot meat, coating it in a thin custard-like layer that mellows and enriches each bite. The coating should be just set at the surface, still liquid within.
5. 5
   Add ingredients to the pan in order of cooking time: firm tofu and konnyaku first, then burdock. Allow each to colour and absorb the enriched liquid — tofu is ready when its surface has coloured slightly and it yields without crumbling under gentle pressure.
6. 6
   Add shirataki noodles and shungiku last. The greens need only 30–60 seconds — they are done when they have wilted but retain their colour, a bright, slightly translucent green. Do not allow them to turn dull or olive-toned.
7. 7
   As the meal progresses, the broth concentrates. Refresh with measured additions of sake and water to prevent the pot from becoming over-salted. Taste the liquid periodically — it should remain balanced, not sharper or sweeter than at the start.
8. 8
   At the close of the meal, add cold cooked udon to the residual concentrated broth — the shimedge. The noodles absorb the Wagyu-enriched, sweet-savoury liquid; they are ready when heated through and coated in the reduced sauce, which should cling visibly to their surface.