Sukiyaki Day

The story

Sukiyaki is a communal Japanese hot pot of thinly sliced beef simmered in a sweet-savory broth of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, with tofu, negi, shiitake, shirataki noodles, and greens. Diners cook at the table, dipping bites into raw beaten egg that cools and enriches each mouthful. The dish rose with Japan’s modern beef culture and became a celebratory home feast for cool weather and special gatherings. Sukiyaki Day in mid-October arrives as autumn invites richer, shared pots.

Regional styles differ—some brown the meat first; others build the broth and add ingredients in careful order—but the mood is always communal. Quality beef shines, yet the vegetables and noodles matter equally, soaking up the glossy sauce. The table becomes the kitchen, and conversation seasons the pot.

On Sukiyaki Day, set a pot at the center of the table, arrange the ingredients beautifully, and cook together. Use the best beef you can share, prepare eggs for dipping, and linger over the meal. Celebrating sukiyaki is celebrating Japan’s most sociable beef hot pot.