Japanese Beef Tendon Stew (Gyusuji Nikomi) 牛筋煮込み

Prep Time 30 mins | Cook Time 2 hrs 25 mins | Total Time 2 hrs 55 mins

Pressure cooked in savory Japanese seasonings, this Japanese Beef Tendon Stew (Gyusuji Nikomi) is incredibly flavorful and literally melts in your mouth.

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish | Cuisine: Japanese | Keyword: beef tendon, stew | Servings: 4 appetizer/side | Author: Nami

Seasonings: 2 cups dashi, 4 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 Tbsp sake, 3 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp miso.

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Add the rinsed beef tendon and 4 cups water (add more to cover the tendon, if necessary) in the Instant Pot.
3. Press the "Sauté" button and change your setting to "More" by pressing the "Adjust" button.
4. Once boiling, press the "Keep Warm/Cancel" button on the Instant Pot to stop cooking. Take out the inner pot and discard the water.
5. Put the inner pot with the tendons back in the Instant Pot and add 4 cups water.
6. Peel the ginger skin with the back of the knife or spoon and cut into thin slices. Cut the green onions in half, reserving the white bottom part.
7. In the Instant Pot, add the sliced ginger and green part of the green onions.
8. Cover and lock the lid. Press the "Manual" button on the Instant Pot. Set HIGH pressure for 30 minutes by pressing "+ (plus)" or "- (minus)" button to change the cooking time. Make sure the steam release handle points at "Sealing" and not "Venting". The float valve goes up when pressurized. [For stovetop cooking, bring the water to boil and lower the heat to simmer and cook for 3 hours.]

Prep Ingredients while Pressure Cooking:

1. Using a spoon to cut the konnyaku into bite-size pieces.
2. Sprinkle ½ tsp kosher salt over konnyaku and rub with your hands. Salt helps konnyaku release some unwanted smell and then absorb flavors later on.
3. Bring water to boil and cook the konnyaku for 5 minutes.
4. Peel and cut daikon into ½ inch quarters.
5. Using the back of the knife, remove the thin layer of gobo skin (do not peel: flavors of gobo is right under the skin). Then diagonally cut gobo into 1/8 inch slices. Soak in water to prevent from changing colors.
6. When it's finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the "Keep Warm" mode. Let the pressure release naturally, about 15-20 minutes. Open the lid and take out the inner pot.
7. Drain the cooking liquid and rinse under warm water.
8. Rinse every part of the tendons with warm water. Drain well and cut the tendons into small pieces. Put them in a bowl and set aside.
9. Quickly rinse and dry the inner pot and place it back in the Instant Pot. Add 2 cups dashi, 3 Tbsp sugar, and 3 Tbsp sake in the pot.
10. Add 4 Tbsp soy sauce and 2 Tbsp miso, and mix well together.
11. Put the cleaned beef tendons and mix together with the sauce.
12. Cover and lock the lid. Press the "Manual" button on the Instant Pot. Set HIGH pressure for 10 minutes by pressing "- (minus)" button to change the cooking time. Make sure the steam release handle points at "Sealing" and not "Venting". The float valve goes up when pressurized. [For stovetop cooking, bring the sauce to boil and lower the heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour.]
13. When it's finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the "Keep Warm" mode. Let the pressure release naturally for 15-20 minutes or proceed with the quick release by turning the steam release handle to the "venting" position to let steam out until the float valve drops down. Hold a kitchen towel and do not place your hand or face over steam release valve.
14. Add the konnyaku, daikon, and gobo.
15. Cover and lock the lid. Press the "Manual" button on the Instant Pot. Set HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. Make sure the steam release handle points at "Sealing" and not "Venting". The float valve goes up when pressurized. [For stovetop cooking, bring the sauce to boil and lower the heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour.]
16. When it's finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the "Keep Warm" mode. Let the pressure release naturally for 15-20 minutes.
17. Chop reserved half green onions into thin rounds. Serve the beef tendon stews in a bowl and garnish with green onion. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes: Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you'd like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.