Sukiyaki — Sweetly Braised Beef Hotpot
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.