Last fall, while talking to my dad's mom, I asked if Kevin and I could come over for sukiyaki one night during our California visit.
Now, my family's rendition of sukiyaki is completely different than the description found on Wikipedia. The explanation is simple - years ago, my grandparents were served this dinner by a missionary family, and over the years it has greatly evolved to what it is now. My grandma used to make it for my dad's birthday. It had been years since I had had it, and Kevin has never had it!
A large bowl or plate is essential. The order of the ingredients is equally essential. When I was young, a huge deal was made about the order. *Smiles*
egg noodles
grated carrots
cucumbers
scrambled eggs
beef gravy
mung bean sprouts
chow mein noodles
green onions
Soy sauce for flavoring
It sounds like an awful combination! But it is oh, so yummy! It brought back so many memories for me. Kevin was sceptical, but he enjoyed the meal too!
7 comments:
Hi! I've been reading your blog for some time now, but don't know if I have commented before. This post brought a smile to my face! No offense is intended, but I live in Japan. We had sukiyaki for New Year's dinner and ours was nothing like yours. :) First essential is a large sukiyaki platter (sort of like a round electric skillet)in the middle of the table so that everybody can cook and eat at the same time. Your version has definitely been Americanized. If you like yours, you would love ours!
Hello! No offense taken! =) Until I wrote my post last night, I wasn't aware of what "real" sukiyaki even was! It is sure different than my family's dish, that is for sure!!! I imagine that the missionaries who shared this dish with my grandparents probably Americanized it to start with, and like I said, they have changed it over the years too!
Thanks for leaving the comment!
Looks interesting! I'm not much for foods I can't pronounce so I'll pass on this one. But it does look neat!
Thanks for sharing about our family dish. This is special because it's like nothing else, it's something we enjoyed on special ocassions -like birthdays, we helped prepare it together,and it is really yummy. So when I think of our family sukiyaki, it brings back memories of family time. That's the real specialness about it. (Tammy's dad's sister)
My guess is that, depending on how many years ago this missionary taught the recipe, lots of substitutions were made because of unavailable ingredients. We do that a lot when we are in the states. :)
Oh how funny. My mom was raised in Hawaii, and her father used to make something called sukiyaki and make my mom, my aunt, and my uncles eat it. They hated it! They still joke about how awful it was. Then someone tried the real deal, and now they know my dear grandfather didn't have any idea what he was doing!
I read the link with interest. I'll have to check it out in a restaurant sometime!
We will be trying this soon! We like all kinds of cuisines and have been blessed with friends from all over who have shared our traditions, as we have theirs.
Thanks for a great post Tammy.
Love your blog!!
Bon appetit'
Jen
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