We’ll be ushering February in soon, but even as spring inches closer, there’s a persistent chill and most of our team won’t venture outside the doorstep unless armed with a wooly scarf and bobble hat. It’s prime time for us to search for hearty recipes that can provide an extra layer of comfort against the elements.
Enter Dominik Klier and Theo Lindinger, and their Nikujaga recipe. It’s simple and straightforward for anyone less than confident in the kitchen, but packs a punch of flavor that could satiate any formidable food critic. The Japanese beef-and-potato stew is speedy to prepare, and works best with organic beef and high-quality potato brands.
We were recently introduced to Dominik and Theo through our friends Valentino Betz and Marvin Schuhmann when we spent a day with them in Munich and visited their blend of food stall and snack bar, Caspar Plautz. Committed to bringing the humble but occasionally undervalued potato into the limelight, Caspar Plautz appealed to FF because of their earthiness, authenticity, and skill for elevating the simple ingredients of day-to-day life through creativity.
Nikujaga: Japanese beef and potato stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 200g beef brisket (cut in thin slices)
- 600g waxy baby potatoes (peeled and cut in half)
- 2 onions (peeled and cut in 8 lengthwise pieces)
- 350ml dashi
- 50ml soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 50ml sake
- 50ml mirin
- 2 tbsp sesame (roasted for 2 minutes without fat)
- 1 fresh chili (cut in thin slices)
- Coriander
Method
- Heat the sesame oil in a pot, sear the meat for 2 minutes, add potatoes and onions and fry for another 3-5 minutes
- Add dashi, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin and boil up
- Reduce to medium heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Gently stir a few times
- Garnish with sesame, chili and coriander
Thank you to Dominik Klier and Theo Lindinger, founders of Caspar Plautz, for sharing their Japanese stew recipe with us.
Since late 2017, Caspar Plautz stall has been open in old town Munich’s Viktualienmarkt and grown rapidly in popularity and favorable reputation. Meeting through working in the same kitchen at the Monticule Festival in the South of France, the pair threw themselves into studying food, learning from culinary experts, and devising creative and delicious dishes that combine modern influences and classic comfort. Their cookbook, Caspar Plautz: Recipes with Potatoes, is available at the stand and online, and was diligently curated by Dominik, Theo, and their chef de cuisine Kay. It’s an ode to the versatility of the underestimated potato, and catalogs their recipes interspersed with potato-centered information and meditations.
Caspar Plautz’s endeavors are also not chained to its stall; they offer a catering service where they can offer signature dishes or new delights for a variety of events and gatherings.
We were introduced to Dominik and Theo’s work through our friends, the founders of Public Possession, Marvin and Valentino. During a day we spent in Munich with them, they brought us to some of their favorite places in Munich. Read the full profile on Public Possession here.
Text: Ellen McBride
Images by Julian Mittelstädt, Tanja Kernweiss, and Conny Mirbach
