Hayashi raisu (Hayashi rice)

Ingredients

• 450g / 1 lb thinly sliced beef
• 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
• About 10-12 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
• Butter or oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 cup (240ml) red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce or Bulldog chuunou sauce
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• Parsley or green peas for garnish

The sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 cup demi-glace or 4 cups strong beef stock
• 1 16-oz or 440g can of canned tomatoes
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 3 Tbs. flour
• Water

OR

• 6 blocks (or more if you like it thick) from a hayashi rice roux packet
• Water

Equipment: a large frying pan or sauté pan, a heavy bottomed pot for stewing or a crockpot

Cut the meat up into bite-sized pieces. Heat up a frying pan with butter, oil or combination of both, and sauté the beef until browned. Take out the meat and set aside.

In the same pan, add a bit more butter (no this is not diet food) and add the onions. Sauté over medium-low heat until limp and slightly brown. Add the garlic, mushrooms and carrot. Sauté until the mushrooms are turning limp.

Put all the vegetables in a heavy-bottomed stew pot (a crockpot will do nicely too).

Add the wine. If you’re using the hayashi rice roux blocks, add about 4 cups of water (don’t add the roux at this point yet). If you’re using the other sauce ingredients, add either the demi-glace plus 3 cups of water, the canned tomato and tomato paste, or 4 cups of strong beef stock and the canned tomato and tomato paste. Add the bay leaves and thyme.

Let it all simmer until the liquid has reduced to about half. Add the beef to the pot and contine simmering - the beef should be very tender.

If you’re making your own sauce, make a roux by melting 2 Tbs. of butter in the frying pan and adding the flour. Stir until the flour is grainy and a little bit browned. Add to the stew and stir. Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.

If using the roux blocks, add them now and stir well to melt.

Add a little water or stock to thin out if it looks too thick. Simmer a few minutes.

Taste and add salt or pepper as needed. Take out the bay leaves.

Serve over rice that’s been mixed with a little salted butter. Garnish with chopped parsley or a few green peas.

This makes 6 to 8 servings.