---
title: Shinshu beef sukiyaki
url: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/notes/shinshu-beef-sukiyaki/
lang: en
journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/narai/
---

# Shinshu beef sukiyaki

Cook the local flavors once more　/　Shiojiri, Nagano

Nagano's "apple-fed Shinshu beef" is black wagyu that meets standards set by a producers' association; the cattle are fed by-products of the prefecture's food industry, such as apple pomace from juice making and the soybean broth left from making miso and soy sauce. The fat has a low melting point and is known for melting smoothly in the mouth. This time I simmered it with maitake, leek and tofu in a pan on the table.

## Ingredients

- Beef (Shinshu beef)
- Leek (naganegi)
- Maitake mushrooms
- Tofu
- Sukiyaki broth (warishita)
- Egg

## How I made it

1. Slice the leek and arrange it on a plate with the maitake
2. Set the pan on a tabletop burner, heat the broth and simmer the beef in it
3. Add tofu, maitake and leek, adding more beef as you go
4. Dip in beaten egg and eat

## This moment in the journey: Shinshu beef sukiyaki

Dinner was sukiyaki with beef from Nagano. I sliced a leek on the board and arranged maitake mushrooms and leek on a plate, then set the pan on a tabletop burner and laid the beef in the sweet soy broth.

Shinshu beef is a premium brand from Nagano, also known as "apple-fed beef" because the cattle are raised on feed that includes apple pomace. I cracked an egg into a bowl, beat it with chopsticks, dipped the simmered beef in it, and took a bite. It was astonishingly tender.

Into the pan went tofu, maitake and rounds of leek, with more beef added as I went. I like sukiyaki because you get to enjoy the cooking itself: the sound of the simmering, the meat changing color.

![Beef changing color beside the tofu](https://karigurashijourney.com/img/narai/s82-1200.jpg)
- Sources: https://www.go-nagano.net/food-and-drink/id18667
- Sources: https://meats-town.com/media/brand-sort/nagano-shinshu-apple/

Read this scene in the full journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/narai/