Beef Sukiyaki

Hello again! This recipe is in the Betty Crocker Cookbook c.1973 and is one of my new favorite recipes. I found it when I was looking for some easy recipes to make here in Japan that doesn't involve an oven. A crockpot is an awesome thing but sometimes you just don't have time to do all the prep work involved and admittedly a crockpot takes longer to cook food than an oven does. This recipe is good because it is easy to make, I always have leftovers to eat the next day, and it's delicious! But I digress, the recipe is:

Economy Sukiyaki

1 lb. beef boneless round steak*
1/3 cup soy sauce <--I used 1/2 cup
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 beef bullion cube
1/2 cup boiling water
8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced <--again I don't like so I omitted**
1 bunch green onions (about 8 medium), cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 large onions, thinly sliced <-- I omit
3 medium stalks celery, cut into diagonal slices (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 can (8 1/2 oz.) bamboo shoots, drained <-- ok I used fresh but hey I'm in Japan right?
3 oz. spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups) <-- I omitted because a. hard to find spinach in japan, and b. I don't like cooked, only fresh.
3 cups hot cooked, rice <-- Its Japan so I have a rice cooker

1. Cut beef steak across grain into strips, each about 2x1/4 inch.
2. Mix soy sauce and sugar; toss with beef. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
3. Drain beef, reserving marinade.
4. Cook and stir beef in oil in 12 inch skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat until brown. Push beef to side of skillet.
5. Dissolve bouillon cube in water; stir into reserved marinade. Pour into skillet
6. Arrange mushrooms, onions, celery and bamboo shoots in seperate sections of the skillet.
7. Cover, simmer until beef is tender, about 10 min. Add spinich; cover & simmer 5 min. longer. Serve with rice.

Substitions:
-Beef boneless top loin steak or tenderloin for the round steak. Do not marinate. Stir in soy sauce and sugar with the boullion.

Changes I have made:
** instead of mushrooms I add about 2 medium or 3 small potatos, cubed and softened.
- I also simmer for about 30 min. once all ingredients are in, stirring a bit occassionally. This makes the sauce absorb into the ingredients and trust me it tastes better.
- I always marinate the beef. The one time I didn't marinate it the taste was much weaker than it normally is.

And once again I present you with pictures of the finished product. Enjoy!