Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki(鋤焼, or more commonlyすき焼き;[sɯ̥kijaki])is aJapanese dishthat is prepared and served in thenabemono(Japanesehot pot) style.
It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture ofsoy sauce,sugar, andmirin. The ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beateneggsafter being cooked in the pot, and then eaten.
Generally sukiyaki is awinterdish and it is commonly found atbōnenkai,Japaneseyear-end parties.
Thinly slicedbeefis usually used for sukiyaki, although in the past, in certain parts of the country (notablyHokkaidōandNiigata) pork was also popular.
Popular ingredients cooked with the beef are:
Boiled wheatudonormochi(rice-cakes) are sometimes added, usually at the end to soak up the broth.
Sukiyaki is a one-pot dish (nabemono) that was developed during theMeiji era. Different regions have different ways of preparing sukiyaki. There are two main styles, theKantostyle from eastern Japan andKansaistyle from western Japan.
In the Kanto style,warishita(a mixture of sake, soy sauce, sugar, mirin and dashi) is poured and heated in a pot, then meat, vegetables and other ingredients are added and simmered together. In Kansai-style sukiyaki, meat is heated in the pot first. When the meat is almost cooked, sugar, sake and soy sauce are added, then vegetables and other ingredients are added last.
The vegetables and meat used are different between the two styles. Because beef was expensive in the past, the use of pork was common in northern and eastern regions. Other ingredients added to modern sukiyaki include chicken (tori-suki), fish (uo-sukioroki-suki),udon noodles(udon-suki),negi, shiitake mushrooms,shiratakiand slightly grilled tofu. In both styles, raw eggs are used as a dipping sauce and steamed rice with black sesame seeds is served.
One theory for the origin of the name is that it derives from the wordssuki(鋤), which meansspade, andyaki(焼き), which is the verb "togrill". During theEdo period(1603–1868), farmers used  suki to cook things like fish and tofu. However, sukiyaki became a traditional Japanese dish during theMeiji era(1868–1912). Another theory is that the name comes from the word sukimi(剥き身), which means "thinly sliced meat".
Buddhism was introduced to Japan during theAsuka period.At that time, killing animals was against Buddhist law. Also eating beef was prohibited since cattle were considered work animals. However, people could eat meat under some special circumstances, such as when they were sick, or at special events, likebōnenkai, the year-end drinking party. During the Edo period, eating game, such as boar and duck, was common and not forbidden. In the 1860s, when Japan opened its ports to foreign merchants, foreigners who came to Japan introduced the culture of eating meat and new cooking styles. Cows, milk, meat, and eggs became widely used, and sukiyaki was a popular way to serve them. At first, cattle were imported from neighboring countries like Korea and China as the demand for beef increased. Sukiyaki possibly originated and became popular in the Kansai region. Following the1923 Great Kantō earthquake, many beef restaurants in Tokyo were closed and many people in Kantō temporarily moved to the Osaka area.  While the people of Kantō were in Osaka, they got accustomed to the Kansai style of sukiyaki, and when they returned to Kantō, they introduced the Kansai sukiyaki style, where it has since become popular. Beef is the primary ingredient in today's sukiyaki.
Sukiyaki became prominent in U.S. Japanese restaurants by the 1930s.In 1959, food writer for theNew York TimesCraig Claibornewrote that the dish was among the four most requested recipes the newspaper had received over the previous year.It was among the four most requested recipes to the New York Times In 1978 W.L. Taitte stated inTexas Monthlythat sukiyaki was "the most famous but hardly the most characteristic Japanese dish."By the 1980s, in the U.S., sukiyaki was becoming obscure as sushi became more prominent.
The 1961 song "Ue wo Muite Arukō" was given the alternative title "Sukiyaki" so that it could be short and recognizably Japanese in English-speaking countries. Despite the title, the lyrics have no connection to sukiyaki.
Swedish comedian and singerPovel Ramelwrote a song, the "Sukiyaki Syndrome", wherein the restaurant customer wants sukiyaki. There are a number of variations, each with a description so long that by the time he orders any of them, the restaurant has run out.