Nikujaga Golden Ratio: Foolproof Seasoning Ratios and How to Make It in Ho Chi Minh City

Living abroad, there are chilly nights when you suddenly miss the nikujaga your family used to make. The memory of that sweet-savory steam is the very taste of home.

And you can recreate that taste exactly the same way every time, as long as you remember the golden ratio for the seasoning. The easiest is the waterless method that uses neither dashi nor water: sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3. When you want the aroma of dashi to come through, aim for a sweet-savory mix made with Japanese-style dashi: sake 3 : soy sauce 3 : mirin 2 : sugar 1. After that, just two things: add the sweet seasonings first, and simmer gently under a drop lid. Even in Ho Chi Minh City, potatoes, onions, and carrots are easy to find, so as long as you have soy sauce and thin-sliced meat, you can make your family's nikujaga just as you remember it.

There is more than one nikujaga golden ratio

Even when we say "golden ratio," the best proportions change depending on whether you use dashi or water. Here are four representative patterns, organized so you can pick the one that fits your taste and the seasonings you have on hand.

Pattern	Ratio	Dashi	Characteristics
Classic water-based	water 1.5 cups : soy sauce 3 tbsp : mirin 2 tbsp : sugar 1 tbsp	Not used (water only)	Gentle home-style taste. Works even without dashi
Waterless, pro method	sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3	Not needed	Rich, from the vegetables' own moisture. Hardest to get wrong
Dashi-based sweet-savory	sake 3 : soy sauce 3 : mirin 2 : sugar 1	Uses Japanese-style dashi	Deep, sweet-savory flavor with dashi aroma
Easy equal parts	sake 1 : soy sauce 1 : mirin 1	Uses Japanese-style dashi	All equal, so measuring is simple

The classic water-based version serves 2 to 3 people. As a guide, use 3 potatoes (about 450g), 150g of thin-sliced beef, 1/2 onion, and 1/2 carrot. You finish it with just water and seasonings, no store-bought dashi (source: Orange Page).

With the waterless pro method, the vegetables (mainly the onions) release plenty of moisture, so you need no added water or dashi (source: mi-journey). When you want a touch of dashi aroma, or when you just want the simplest possible measuring with equal parts, the ratios that add granulated Japanese-style dashi are handy (source: Olive wo Hitomawashi).

Ingredients and amounts (waterless pro method / serves 4)

These are the amounts for the waterless pro method, the one that is hardest to get wrong. The seasonings come to sugar 30g : sake 60ml : soy sauce 90ml, which is exactly the 1 : 2 : 3 golden ratio (source: mi-journey).

Ingredient	Amount	Note
Potatoes (such as Danshaku)	4	Cut into bite-size pieces. A firmer variety that holds its shape is safest
Onion	2	Sliced 1cm wide along the grain. The key to moisture and umami
Carrot	1	Rolling-cut into bite-size pieces
Thin-sliced meat (beef or pork)	200g	Beef is Western-Japan style, pork is Eastern-Japan style. Offcut slices are fine
Shirataki	1 pack	Cut in half for easy eating (skip if unavailable)
Sugar	30g	Golden ratio "1"
Sake	60ml	Golden ratio "2." Removes odor and adds umami
Soy sauce	90ml	Golden ratio "3." The base of the flavor
Sesame oil	As needed	For stir-frying

How to make waterless nikujaga (5 steps)

1. Sear the meat: Add sesame oil and the thin-sliced meat to a cold pan, heat it, and once the color changes, transfer the meat to a pot.
2. Stir-fry the vegetables: In the same pan, stir-fry the potatoes and carrots until lightly browned, then move them to the pot along with the shirataki. Pour the sake into the pan, scrape up the remaining umami, and add it to the pot.
3. Sweet seasonings first: Add the onion to the pot, then the sugar, and finally drizzle in the soy sauce. Adding the sugar first is the trick that sets the flavor.
4. Simmer under a drop lid: Make a drop lid from parchment paper with a hole poked in it, put the pot lid on as well, and let it simmer over medium-low heat. Do not stir; just occasionally turn the pieces over so they do not fall apart.
5. Finish: It is done when a bamboo skewer slides easily through the potatoes. Scatter some blanched green beans on top if you like.

Three tips for a delicious finish

Even with the same ratio, the method changes the taste a lot. Nail these three points and your flavor will stay consistent.

• Add the sweet seasonings first: Sugar and mirin first, soy sauce after. If you add the soy sauce first, the sweetness has trouble soaking in and only the saltiness stands out.
• Simmer gently under a drop lid: A drop lid made from parchment paper with a hole lets the flavor reach everything even with a small amount of liquid. Keep it at a gentle medium-low, just enough for convection, not a hard boil.
• Reduce at the end: For the finish, remove the lid and raise the heat, reducing the liquid to about one-third. This brings out the glaze and depth.

Searing the meat first, removing it once the color changes, and returning it after the vegetables are cooked keeps it from getting too tough.

Finding nikujaga ingredients in Ho Chi Minh City

When you cook Japanese food abroad, the biggest hurdle is whether you can get the seasonings and the meat. The nice thing about nikujaga is that the base vegetables are easy to find in Ho Chi Minh City. Potatoes, onions, and carrots are staples at local markets and supermarkets, and fresh produce from Da Lat is available all year. In other words, as long as you have the Japanese seasonings and thin-sliced meat that set the flavor, you can get close to your family's taste using local ingredients alone.

Here are a few small tweaks for cooking it locally.

• Potatoes, onions, carrots: Local produce is fine as is. If you are worried about pieces falling apart, choose firmer potatoes that keep their shape even when cooked through.
• Thin-sliced meat: Thin-sliced meat can be hard to find in Vietnam. Partially freeze a block of meat and slice it thin yourself, or pick up pre-sliced meat for quick cooking.
• Shirataki: It is fine to leave out if you cannot find it. Adding a small amount of locally available glass noodles (Vietnamese "mien") at the end soaks up the broth and adds heartiness (the texture will be a little different).
• Dashi and mirin: Not needed for the waterless pro method. Only prepare Japanese-style dashi and mirin when you want the dashi-forward, sweet-savory version.

Farmi is an online shopping app that lets you order groceries and daily goods from your phone in Ho Chi Minh City. The app, the delivery staff, and customer support all handle Japanese, English, and Vietnamese, so you can order even if you do not speak Vietnamese. You can also find the Japanese seasonings and thin-sliced meat for nikujaga right in the app.

• Japanese soy sauce: The one bottle that forms the base of the flavor. You use it in both the waterless and dashi versions.
• Cooking sake and mirin: For removing the meat's odor and adding depth. In the waterless method, sake is what decides the umami.
• Thin-sliced meat (beef or pork): Pre-sliced meat for nikujaga. Offcut slices still finish plenty delicious.
• Japanese-style dashi: For when you want the dashi-forward, sweet-savory flavor.

We also plan to cover how to choose Japanese seasonings in a separate article (Guide to essential Japanese seasonings [TODO: swap for the article link after publishing]).

Within the service area, delivery reaches your door in as little as 1 hour (delivery time varies by address, time of day, and stock), so you save the trouble of going out for heavy seasonings or chilled meat. On the night you get the craving, you can make nikujaga right then. That feeling of "Home Is Here" is exactly what Farmi wants to deliver.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Beef or pork, which is correct? Pork is said to be mainstream in Eastern Japan, beef in Western Japan. The golden ratio is the same either way. Choosing thin-sliced meat cooks faster and is more foolproof.

Q. Can I make it without dashi? Yes. With the waterless pro method (sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3), the moisture and umami from the vegetables, especially the onion, are enough for a delicious finish. Only choose a dashi-based ratio when you want the dashi aroma.

Q. Can I make it without mirin? Yes. You can substitute mirin with "sugar plus sake." The waterless pro method uses no mirin to begin with, so you can make it as is. If you want more glaze, reduce the liquid at the end for depth and a bit of thickness.

Q. I cannot find thin-sliced meat in Ho Chi Minh City. Lightly freeze a block of meat (to the partially frozen state) and slice it thin for slices well suited to nikujaga. If you can get pre-sliced meat for nikujaga, it is easy to use straight away.

Q. My dish came out too salty. Over-reducing is often the cause. Next time, stop just before the liquid gets down to one-third, or add a little water (or dashi) to adjust.

Summary

For nikujaga, the waterless method is sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3, the classic water-based is water 1.5 cups : soy sauce 3 tbsp : mirin 2 tbsp : sugar 1 tbsp, and for dashi aroma it is the dashi-based sake 3 : soy sauce 3 : mirin 2 : sugar 1. Remember any one of them and your flavor will stay steady. After that: sweet seasonings first, a drop lid, and reduce at the end. Even abroad, potatoes, onions, and carrots are available locally, and as long as you have soy sauce and thin-sliced meat, you can make the familiar taste.

If you need Japanese seasonings or thin-sliced meat for tonight's nikujaga, you can order from the Farmi app. In the service area it arrives in as little as 1 hour, so it is right on time. You can download the app below.

• App Store (iPhone / iPad): Download Farmi
• Google Play (Android): Download Farmi

You can check the services and coverage area on the official Farmi website.

References: Orange Page (classic water-based) / mi-journey (pro-taught waterless) / Olive wo Hitomawashi (dashi-based ratios)

> Note: This article and some of its images were created with the help of AI. All content was reviewed by our editorial team before publishing.