Food Friday: Sukiyaki

So, I'm almost ashamed to make a Food Friday out of my one Sukiyaki photo, but it's too good not to share. (I swear I thought I took more!)  Sukiyaki is a hot pot dish that you can put just about anything in (yaki, meaning "as you wish").  I tried out the Kansai style Sukiyaki which contains very thinly sliced beef, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shiratake noodles and bok choy.  I referenced a great video and recipe here, but you basically simmer soy sauce, sugar and sake, cook the beef in it, add all your other ingredients, and put a lid on it until it's done.  Here's basically what it looks like...

Now, in Japan they would have the hot pot on the dining table and add ingredients as needed while everyone takes pieces of the Sukiyaki out of the pot as it cooks at the table.  I don't own a hot plate, so I just took the whole skillet to the table.  It's not pretty or refined, but hey, it works.  The great thing about this dish is you can mix it up according to what you have on hand or what you can find at your local grocery.  I made it the other night with just beef, button mushrooms, and tofu and it turned out wonderful.  It's great for those nights when you want something hot and delicious but don't want to put a lot of work into it.  Serve it with sticky rice and you've got a hearty meal!