Hayashi Raisu

My latest food obsession after watching Ryusei no Kizuna where every single episode never fail to feature Hayashi Rice (Japanese beef stew) till it drove me nuts for it.

Oh yes, it's a drama staring Ryo and Nino (Yes! A fall drama with JE guys♥) and Toda Erika. Nice drama if you ask me and even nicer if you love JE as much as I do =P Will review this drama another day.

And so I googled the recipe up to satiate my craving once and for all. After finding the one with the most positive comments, I gave the list to my mum who happily bought all ingredients lol I dunno how to shop properly yet cuz when I said I wanted beef, I was asked 'which kind?' Like wth beef lar what you mean what kind. You know, b-e-e-f? Meat from cows that go m-o-o? To which I was given an overwhelming reply like 'yes I know you want beef, but which kind? Like grain-fed beef, grass-finished beef, steak, brisket, boneless roast, ground beef, tenderloin, jerky, marbling, kobe, etc. etc.'

WTH OKAY SINCE WHEN DID BUYING BEEF BECAME AS COMPLICATED AS READING A MEDICAL STUDENT'S TEXTBOOK?!?!?!

So I took the liberty of googling the list beefs up and you can click here if you need an excuse to encourage yourself into abandoning cooking altogether. Life was so much simpler back then before I attempted this dish where steak was something you eat in a fancy restaurant, jerky a term referring to fidgety people and the only Kobe you knew of was an elite NBA player. Sigh.

Anyway, one good thing about my posts as opposed to those pro recipe blogs is that I tell you little useful tips for beginners which those pro chefs think too ridiculous to ever include like how you'll need this:

Oh shaddap ok you'll need this later trust me. Unless you're those pro cooking people then shoo. Plus now with this, you can also literally cook in style =P

First you slice the beef into thin and I mean THIN bite-sized pieces. Like paper thin ok and not what you assume is bite-sized pieces like I did (pinky sized thickness) and got reprimanded by my mom in return for how it'll take forever to cook and which would result in the beef becoming tough to chew -_- Sorry I forgot to take pics for this nvm we shall move on to the onions now:

And this is the part where you don your super fashionable sunnies =D Because I swear the sting of the onions is super unbearable ok! Look, I nearly chopped my finger off okay what with my eyes being practically blinded by stinging tears. And so if you're those glass-less people who hate the idea of being fingerless, don. the. sunnies.

Add an unhealthy amount of butter (if you find yourself going 'siao so much butter' then you just about got it right) in the pan crap my diet is so going down the drain and dump all your veggies and mushrooms in it and let it sauté until you deem fit. wth is sauté anyway?! How do you even pronounce it too? Sow-tee? Sou-teh? Sa-oo-teh?

Anyway, after you're done sauté-ing your veggies, transfer them into a pot (which I obviously do not have) and add all the liquid ingredients till it looks like a questionable steaming pot of molten lava with leaves floating in it. Only leaves don't float in lava cuz I think they would melt from all the heat? hmm. Let it simmer till only half of the liquid is left (what a waste of liquid ingredients imo) then dump your beef in it.

Then it's only a matter of adjusting the flavor and thickness of sauce to your liking by adding salt, pepper and water to your heart's desire. Ha I feel so damn pro shaking unmeasured salt and pepper over it and tasting then adding unmeasured water into it to decide the thickness heh. Cuz you are considered pro when you have no need for measurements no? Just you wait, now salt and water, next, EVERYTHING. Ha.

Oh another tip: the longer you cook beef, the tougher it gets. Seriously how am I supposed to remember all these, how come cooking pork longer makes it softer but beef becomes tougher? Baaah.

End result:

Ahem. Not bad no? =D Looks very Japanese ok if you ask me. I know the lighting isn't great, seriously I should buy a new camera, but I am improving right? I can now join the 'girls who can cook' club liao. Didn't even burn a single thing at all this time or have it coming out looking nothing like the recipe picture *beams*

Recipe I used can be found here. Btw, I cooked for my entire family in case you misunderstand and are now agog with incredulity at how a whole pot can only produce one plate. It's not ok. It's like enough for 6-8 servings.

Ha! Take that Nino, I also have my Hayashi Rice *happy*