Nikujaga (Japanese Pork & Potato Stew) is one of the most iconic dishes in Japanese home cooking. Tender potatoes, sweet onions, colorful carrots, and juicy pork are gently simmered in a sweet soy-based broth (soy sauce, mirin, sugar) until the flavors soak through and each bite melts in your mouth.
For generations, nikujaga has been the very essence of “ofukuro no aji”—Japan’s nostalgic “mom’s taste.” It’s everyday comfort food that pairs perfectly with steamed rice and brings the warmth of a Japanese family meal to the table.
Yet nikujaga is easy to get wrong: its simplicity means the outcome depends on timing, heat control, and when you add the seasonings. Follow the steps in this recipe—sauté the vegetables to build flavor, add sugar first to draw out umami, then simmer gently on low—and you’ll get tender vegetables, balanced sweetness, and deep, home-style richness without falling apart.
This traditional Japanese stew shows how humble ingredients can create remarkable depth—and it’s an inviting place to start if you’re new to Japanese home cooking.
Table of Contents
Why Nikujaga Became Japan’s Home-Style Icon
In Japan, nikujaga is regarded as the quintessential home-style dish. While similar simmered dishes existed before the war, nikujaga became firmly established in everyday households during the postwar era and into the 1960s, when magazines and TV promoted it as the symbol of home cooking.
Part of its appeal was practical: even during postwar food shortages, potatoes were relatively accessible, and the other ingredients—onions, carrots, and beef or pork—were staples available across regions. The seasoning was equally simple, relying only on soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, condiments found in every Japanese kitchen.
Nutritionally, nikujaga delivers balance in one bowl: carbohydrates from potatoes, protein from meat, and vitamins from vegetables. Its sweet-salty flavor pairs perfectly with rice, making it beloved across generations.
Although the recipe looks straightforward, mastering nikujaga requires fundamental cooking skills—heat control, timing, and the right order of seasoning. For decades, being able to make delicious nikujaga has been seen as a sign of being “good at home cooking.” By following this recipe, you’ll discover the key techniques to create tender, flavorful nikujaga and bring a taste of authentic Japanese comfort food to your table.
Ingredients (Serves 3-4)
- Pork belly – 7 oz / 200 g (cut into bite-size pieces)
- Potatoes – 4 medium (cut into thirds or quarters, depending on size)
- Onions – 3 medium (cut into 6 wedges each)
- Carrot – 1 (cut into irregular chunks)
- Snap peas – 1 pack (or substitute green beans or snow peas; remove strings and parboil in salted water)
Seasonings
- Sugar (white or cane sugar) – 1 ½–2 tbsp / 0.8–1 oz / 20–30 g (adjust sweetness to taste)
- Sake – 2 tbsp / 1 oz / 30 ml
- Mirin – 2 tbsp / 1 oz / 30 ml
- Soy sauce – 3 tbsp / 1.5 oz / 45 ml
Finishing
- Mirin – 1 tbsp / 0.5 oz / 15 ml
- Soy sauce – 2 tsp / 0.35 oz / 10 ml
Other
- Vegetable oil – about 1 tbsp / 0.5 oz / 15 ml
Instructions
| 1 |
 | Heat oil in a frying pan or pot over medium heat, then add the onions and sauté. |
| 2 |
 | Once the onions are coated in oil, add the carrots. When the carrots are coated, add the potatoes and continue sautéing. Tip Add the vegetables in stages rather than all at once—this ensures each piece is quickly and evenly coated with oil. |
| 3 |
 | Sauté until the onions turn completely translucent and no white remains, taking care not to let them burn. Tip It’s essential to cook the vegetables thoroughly here. Heating the onions until all the white has disappeared draws out sweetness and depth, softens the vegetables evenly, and helps prevent them from falling apart later. |
| 4 |
 | Add the pork and cook until the color changes (no longer pink). Tip Spread the pork in a single, non-overlapping layer on top of the vegetables in the pan. This helps it cook evenly and stay tender without overmixing. |
| 5 |
 | Add the sugar and continue sautéing until the vegetables release their flavorful juices. Tip Don’t add all the seasonings at once—adding the sugar first helps extract more umami. |
| 6 |
 | Pour in the sake and mirin, letting them dissolve and distribute the flavors released from the vegetables. |
| 7 |
 | Add the soy sauce and stir lightly just once. After that, do not stir further—cover with a lid, reduce to very low heat, and simmer gently until a skewer slides smoothly through the potatoes. Tip Gentle simmering after the seasonings are added is key. At low heat, potato starch gradually converts to sugar, increasing sweetness, while at around 60–70 °C (140–160 °F) the cell walls set, preventing the potatoes from breaking apart. |
| 8 |
 | Once the potatoes are fully cooked through, add the finishing mirin. |
| 9 |
 | Allow the alcohol in the mirin to evaporate until the stew develops a glossy sheen, then drizzle in the finishing soy sauce and gently stir once to combine. |
| 10 |
 | Transfer to serving bowls, garnish with snap peas, and serve. |
Top Spots in Japan We Recommend — Kure vs. Maizuru
There are several theories about the origin of nikujaga, but the two main contenders are the port cities of Kure in Hiroshima and Maizuru in Kyoto. One popular story claims that Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, who once served in the navy, longed for the taste of the beef stew he had eaten while studying in England and ordered his navy cooks to recreate it. This story is now widely regarded as a fabricated tale created for a TV program, yet both Maizuru and Kure—where Tōgō was stationed at different times—have promoted themselves as the birthplace of nikujaga.
Today, each city offers many restaurants serving their own versions of the dish. Rather than a serious rivalry, this “origin story competition” is largely a way to boost local pride and tourism, and in practice the two towns celebrate nikujaga side by side.
Interestingly, while nikujaga is a staple in Japanese households, it’s not often found as a stand-alone item on restaurant menus. More commonly, it appears as a small side dish in set meals or at casual eateries. So, if you’d like to try authentic nikujaga, visiting Kure or Maizuru is a great idea.
Even better, both cities are close to some of Japan’s most famous scenic spots, known as the Three Views of Japan (Nihon Sankei). Maizuru is near Amanohashidate, while Kure is not far from Itsukushima Shrine. The third, Matsushima in Miyagi, completes the trio. If you hesitate to travel just for nikujaga, why not enjoy both the dish and some of Japan’s most celebrated landscapes on the same trip?
Amanohashidate (天橋立)
Itsukushima (厳島)
Kure 呉市
Google map
Maizuru 舞鶴市
Google map
Amanohashidate (天橋立)
Google map
Tourism Association
Itsukushima (厳島)
Google map
Official Website