Soup called what?

YES! I have found the secret recipe for the amazing soup that is given at the beginning of the meal at a Japanese steakhouse! It is known by many names- hibachi soup, steakhouse soup, and I have even heard it called chicken broth- weird. Although it does have chicken bouillon in it, it is not the broth of a chicken! Like myself, I'm sure some of you are tired of asking to purchase a quart and getting a funny look. Now, I won't have to stand the looks anymore!

Contrary to what most believe, the soup that is served is NOT miso soup. Miso soup is essentially a Japanese soup in which dashi (stock made with seaweed and sardines) is combined with miso (fermented soybean paste). This Japanese onion soup is more basic, much easier to replicate, and in my opinion, SO much tastier!

It's fairly simple to make because there isn't much prep work and once it's boiling, you just let it simmer. How long it simmers is up to you, but no less than 45 minutes. The vegetables do not need to be diced or chopped precisely, as they are the flavoring and will be strained out. Also, taste occasionally as you may need to add more water. I added an additional 1½ cups of water because when I tasted mine, it was a little salty. In total, I used 9½ cups of water.

Japanese Onion Soup

1 small onion, quartered
2-3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, halved
2-3 cloves garlic, halved or quartered
½ inch of ginger, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. beef bouillon
2 tbsp. chicken bouillon
3 mushrooms, quartered
8 cups water

Optional toppings include scallions, french fried onions, thinly sliced mushrooms, etc.

Place all ingredients into a large saucepan or stock pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to medium. Gently simmer for at least 45 minutes. (You may simmer anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours or more!) I recommend simmering for about an hour and a half. Remove from heat and strain the vegetables from the liquid. The vegetables should be discarded because they should have already given up their flavor into the stock. My favorite topping is french fried onions and scallions while my boyfriend prefers the mushrooms.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 6
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 34.9

• Total Fat: 0.5 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 506.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 6.8 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.4 g
• Protein: 1.2 g

Beef Tips.

     Beef tips served over rice is one of my boyfriend's favorite meals. I happen to think the dish is pretty tasty as well. It's beefy, hearty, and loaded with flavor! I had made a dish similar to this one before, but it was baked in the oven, which I thought was strange. The meat was a little more tough with a lot less flavor. Delicious, nonetheless, just lacking something. This recipe is amazing and I can not wait to have it again! (: We'll just give it a few weeks so I can experiment elsewhere! 

Beef Tips

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1½ to 2 lbs. stew beef, 1-inch cubes

4 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)

2 c. water

¼ c. soy sauce

¼ c. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 (.75 oz.) packet dry brown gravy mix

1 c. water

Depending on your butcher, you may not have to do this step...I did, however. My stew beef was cut VERY roughly and very large - about 3-inch chunks. I prefer much smaller pieces, due to ease. I cut my meat into approximately 1-inch cubes.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Sauté the onion until almost translucent. 

    

Once onion has become slightly translucent, add the stew beef and brown on all sides on high heat. For me, this took about 3-4 minutes. At this point, I added about 4 ounces of sliced button mushrooms. I browned them for about 2 minutes. Then, pour 2 cups of water, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce in. Allow to return to a simmer. Once simmering, stir in garlic 

powder, salt, and pepper.

 

Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and let it simmer for approximately 2 hours. During this time, the meat will tenderize and literally begin to fall apart! (: It's delicious! About 5 minutes before the simmering time has completed, whisk together the dry gravy mix and 1 cup water thoroughly. Pour into the skillet and return to the boil. The sauce will thicken slightly. 

If you want the sauce to have a little less movement, you can do one of two things: 1) create a corn starch slurry with 1 tbsp. corn starch and 1-2 tbsp. water or 2) gently simmer and let it reduce down a little. I simply left mine to simmer while I cooked the rice I was serving it with and it worked just fine!

Happy Cooking!