Japanese Beef and Vegetable Hot Pot

Asian grandmothers are often the gatekeepers of family recipes. More often than not, these beloved recipes are not written down; they are passed down verbally through the generations. Patricia Tanumihardja made it her mission to write down several of these family recipes in The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook, a beautiful collection of authentic recipes from Korean, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese kitchens. I first met author Patricia at a blogging conference a few years ago, then we met again through an organization called IACP. We are now working together in the IACP Food History Section, which I am chairing this year. I was thrilled when Pat sent me a copy of her cookbook. For many of the recipes, this is the first time they have ever been tested and written down. I was touched by the stories and intrigued by the flavors. This book is really special.

The weather has recently turned chilly here in Los Angeles. I wanted to make something hot and comforting to warm us up. A recipe for Japanese Beef and Vegetable Hot Pot, or sukiyaki, caught my eye. The recipe comes from a grandmother named Kimiye Hayashi. Kimiye’s parents came to America from Hiroshima, making her second generation Japanese. She was born in Pueblo, Colorado in December 1922. When she was five years old the family moved to Southern California, where she spent the next 10 years on Terminal Island, a fishing community located in Los Angeles County. Kimiye describes the island as being “just like a Japanese village.” Many Japanese lived there, including Kimiye’s father, working for the French’s and Van Camp fishing canneries. As you might imagine, fish made up a great part of her family’s diet, along with rice and vegetables.

Just after high school, at age 18, Kimiye was happily married to Shibo Hayashi. The couple found themselves in the midst of tragedy the following year when Pearl Harbor was attacked. The FBI placed all of the Japanese men living on Terminal Island in detention centers, but luckily Kimiye and Shibo were able to escape to an abandoned farm in Torrance, CA along with Kimiye’s four younger sisters and brothers. Eventually, the family was taken to the Rohwer War Relocation center in Arkansas where she gave birth to her first daughter. After one year, they were given permission to leave the camp. They traveled north to Michigan where they found work with Dutch farmers living in Imlay City.

When the war ended, the Hayashi family settled on their own farm in Michigan. In 1960 they relocated to Seattle, where Shibo found farm work in the suburbs. Kimiye took care of the house and their five children. She cooked both American and Japanese meals, including this Japanese Beef and Vegetable Hot Pot, which she would make with whatever vegetables were available. Kimiye took home economics and learned to cook a bit in high school, but she credits her kitchen skills to Japanese church-published cookbooks she collected over time.

We really enjoyed this hot pot, it was filling, comforting and healthy. We used shirataki noodles, which are low carb and low calorie. The broth is both savory and sweet; we used mirin, which has a natural sweetness to it. I prefer a more savory broth, so next time I will omit the sugar and use sake instead. I’ve marked the sugar as optional below. I loved the broiled tofu and the large amount of vegetables. The noodles used are gluten free, which is a bonus for people with food sensitivities. We stirred in some red pepper flakes to spice it up. It was such a treat on a cold evening.

This is just one of the fascinating stories and delicious recipes featured in The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook. It is not a kosher cookbook, however it is a fascinating look at family food stories and recipes. It’s definitely worth reading, especially if you are a fan of Asian foods and flavors. To pick up your own copy, click here.

Source: Tanumihardja, Patricia (2012). The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook. Sasquatch Books, Seattle, WA.