Nikujaga

Nikujaga is a Japanese dish consisting of meat (niku) and potatoes (jagaimo) as its main ingredients. Like most dishes in the Japanese cuisine, the meat is added for flavor, rather than substance. The most common type of meat used in nikujaga is thinly sliced beef simmered in soy sauce, sake, and mirin, although pork is more popular in the eastern parts of the country. Nikujaga is Japanese comfort food that is often cooked at home, and it is one of the most popular dishes in the family of Japanese stewed dishes, called nimono. It is said that nikujaga was created by Togo Heihachiro, who studied naval science in Great Britain, where he discovered a variety of European food, including beef stews. Admiral Heihachiro ordered the base's chefs to make him a beef stew, and since wine and butter were scarce, the chefs used soy sauce and sesame oil, creating a dish that was very similar to today's nikujaga.