Japan-wide — commercialised with beef in Meiji era after 1868 beef-eating liberalisation
Sukiyaki is Japan's other great beef hotpot tradition — philosophically opposite to shabu-shabu. Where shabu-shabu is minimal and pure, sukiyaki is rich, sweet, and deeply seasoned. Beef is seared in a cast-iron or iron sukiyaki pan with a minimal amount of fat, then braised in a sweetly seasoned sauce (warishita: soy, mirin, sake, and sugar in roughly 1:1:1:1 ratio) along with firm tofu, Kyoto-style napa cabbage, shiitake, enoki, shirataki noodles, and Tokyo negi. Each cooked piece is dipped in a beaten raw egg before eating — the raw egg simultaneously cools the hot meat and adds richness. The Kanto style (Tokyo) adds warishita to the raw beef in the pan; Kansai style begins by searing beef with sugar crystals directly in the pan before adding other seasonings, producing a more caramelised, intense flavour. Both are correct.
Intensely sweet-savoury with deep soy caramel notes; wagyu fat rendered into the broth creates extraordinary richness; raw egg coating rounds all flavours
Warishita ratio: approximately equal parts soy sauce, mirin, sake, and some sugar (adjust to taste; Kansai style is sweeter); beef must be of high marbling — sukiyaki is the traditional preparation for Kobe/wagyu beef; raw egg dip is non-negotiable for authentic texture; cook at low heat to braise, not boil; add ingredients in order: beef and sear first, then vegetables with warishita.
Kansai technique: sear wagyu in the pan with only a small knob of beef fat (from the cut's trimming), then immediately sprinkle sugar crystals directly on the beef, then add soy; this Maillard-plus-caramel approach creates extraordinary depth; premium sukiyaki at restaurants like Imahan in Tokyo uses only A5 wagyu with extreme marbling; leftovers: sukiyaki sauce and remaining vegetables make exceptional sobameshi (fried rice with soba noodles) the next day.
Using lean beef (sukiyaki requires heavily marbled wagyu-style beef; lean beef becomes tough); boiling vigorously instead of gentle braising; making warishita too sweet (should be balanced salty-sweet, not candy-sweet); skipping the raw egg dip (the egg is functional, not optional — it creates the textural bridge between hot braise and mouth temperature); over-filling the pan causing uneven cooking.
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art — Shizuo Tsuji