How to Make Nikujaga and the Golden Ratio | Foolproof Japanese Home Cooking in Ho Chi Minh City

When it comes to seasoning nikujaga, once you memorize the golden ratio you can skip the measuring cups and get the same taste every time. The easiest one to remember uses neither dashi nor water: sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3. If you want a richer flavor from mirin, the classic is soy sauce 3 : mirin 2 : sake 2 : sugar 1. The ratio stays the same even as you scale the ingredients up, so as long as you remember one of these two, you will not go wrong.

In Ho Chi Minh City, potatoes, onions, and carrots are all available at local markets and supermarkets. The only things missing are Japanese seasonings like soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Once you have those, you can recreate the exact taste of home even while living abroad.

These Two Golden Ratios Are All You Need

Browse recipe sites and the ratios are all over the place, which only leaves you confused. For home cooking, these two patterns are more than enough.

Golden ratio	Ratio	Characteristics	Who it suits
Simple style	Sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3	No water or dashi needed. Simmered in the natural sweetness of the ingredients	People who do not keep dashi on hand
Rich style	Soy sauce 3 : mirin 2 : sake 2 : sugar 1	Mirin adds gloss and depth	People who love the familiar sweet-savory taste
Quick style	Mentsuyu (3x concentrate) 4 : water 200ml : sugar 2 (tbsp)	Minimal measuring, hard to get wrong	Fast weeknight dinners

If you remember the ratio as a "proportion" rather than a fixed "amount," you can cook for two or for six simply by multiplying the same numbers. That is the biggest advantage of the golden ratio.

Ingredients and Quantities for Four Servings

Here we use the easy-to-remember sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3 (no water) to show the quantities.

Seasonings (guide for four servings)

• Sugar: 30g
• Sake: 60ml
• Soy sauce: 90ml

Ingredients

• Thinly sliced pork or beef: 200g
• Potatoes (Danshaku / Irish Cobbler): 4
• Carrot: 1
• Onion: 2
• Shirataki noodles: 1 pack
• Sesame oil: as needed

For the Kanto style use pork, and for the Kansai style use beef. Whichever you can find is fine. Because the dish simmers in the moisture released by the onions, the key to this recipe is to add no water.

Foolproof Step-by-Step Method

!A pot of nikujaga simmering over low heat under a drop lid_11zon.webp)

1. Brown the meat: Put the sesame oil and meat into a cold frying pan, then turn on the heat and cook until the color changes.
2. Add the root vegetables: Add the potatoes and carrot, give them a light sear, then add the shirataki.
3. Pour in the sake: Add the sake, bring it to a quick boil, and scrape up the savory bits from the meat and vegetables.
4. Season in order: Add the onion, then the sugar, then the soy sauce. Adding the sugar first helps the flavor soak in.
5. Simmer under a double lid: Place a drop lid made of cooking paper on top, then put the pot lid on as well.
6. Simmer gently over low heat: Cook over a low heat with a quiet, gentle simmer, and it is done when a bamboo skewer slides through easily.

Tips to Keep the Potatoes from Falling Apart

• Do not stir: Stirring with a ladle breaks the potatoes down. If you want the flavor to be even, transfer everything into a bowl along with the broth and flip it top to bottom for a clean finish.
• Do not use high heat: High heat causes the pieces to crumble and the bottom to burn. Slow and gentle over low heat is the right approach.
• Use a drop lid to create circulation: Even with a small amount of broth, the flavor reaches everything, and you can avoid adding water.

How to Source Japanese Ingredients in Ho Chi Minh City

When cooking Japanese food abroad, the biggest hurdle is seasonings. Potatoes, onions, and carrots are easy to find in Ho Chi Minh City, but distinctly Japanese items like soy sauce, mirin, cooking sake, and shirataki tend to take time to track down.

Farmi is a grocery service that lets you order Japanese ingredients from an app in Ho Chi Minh City. You can select the seasonings and meat you need for nikujaga all in one place, so you can gather everything you are missing while following the recipe.

• Seasonings: Search for and order Japanese cooking basics like soy sauce and mirin within the app (available items vary by stock).
• Meat: You can check cuts suited to nikujaga, such as thinly sliced pork and beef.
• Japanese language support: The app and support are available in Japanese, so even first-time users are unlikely to get lost.
• Delivery: Same-day delivery within Ho Chi Minh City is supported (coverage area and hours are `TBD`; please check the app).

Once your ingredients are ready, all you have to do is recall the golden ratio numbers. Even on a weeknight, you can put the very same nikujaga you grew up eating on the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Which golden ratio should I choose? A. If you do not keep dashi on hand, go with sugar 1 : sake 2 : soy sauce 3. If you love the familiar sweet-savory taste, we recommend soy sauce 3 : mirin 2 : sake 2 : sugar 1. Both are ratios that are hard to get wrong.

Q. What if I do not have mirin? A. If you have no mirin, you can substitute with sugar and sake. Add a little more sugar to adjust the sweetness.

Q. Pork or beef, which is correct? A. Both are correct. It is simply that the Kanto region tends to use pork and the Kansai region tends to use beef, so feel free to choose based on your taste.

Nikujaga is a classic side dish that you can recreate with the same taste again and again, as long as you remember the golden ratio. When you are short on Japanese seasonings in Ho Chi Minh City, gather your ingredients with the Farmi app and give it a try tonight. You can also use the first-order discount (50,000đ).

Sources

• [[Pro Secrets] 4 New Truths About Nikujaga Recipes (mi-journey.jp)](https://mi-journey.jp/foodie/48950/)
• Nikujaga Made with a 1:1 Golden Ratio (Kikkoman)
• What Is the Golden Ratio for Seasoning Nikujaga? (Olive Oil wo Hitomawashi)

> Note: This article and some of its images were created with the help of AI (artificial intelligence) and reviewed by our editorial team before publication.