Name: Gyusuji Nikomi (Japanese Braised Beef Sinew with Daikon and Konnyaku)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 200 g beef sinew (or beef tendon); 300 g daikon radish (peeled, cut into 2 cm cubes); 1 block (250 g) konnyaku (cut into 2 cm cubes); 3 slices ginger (peeled); 1 stalk scallion green (for simmering); 2 tbsp sake; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp white miso (or red miso for Osaka-style); 250 ml water; chopped scallion and ichimi togarashi (for garnish)

Gyusuji nikomi is one of those Japanese dishes that turns cheap beef into something you crave: braised beef sinew, daikon, and konnyaku simmered in a sweet-savoury miso broth until the meat is fall-apart tender and gelatinous. It is comfort food eaten across Japan, from Osaka izakaya counters to Kyushu home kitchens.

The trick is patience. Beef sinew (gyusuji) is full of collagen — cook it fast and it is inedible; cook it slow and it becomes silky. This version uses an electric pressure cooker to collapse a whole afternoon of simmering into about 15 minutes at pressure, plus a little natural release.

A bowl of finished gyusuji nikomi — Japanese braised beef sinew with cubed daikon and konnyaku in a dark miso broth — garnished with chopped scallion and a dusting of red ichimi togarashi, with an S&B ichimi bottle in the background

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Cheap beef, incredible result. Beef sinew is one of the least expensive cuts. Long slow cooking turns it into something luxurious.
Pressure cooker friendly. What normally takes 2–3 hours on the stovetop is done in about 30 minutes total.
White miso version. The Delish Kitchen original uses red miso — I use white for a mellower, slightly sweeter finish that lets the beef come through.
Even better the next day. The broth thickens as it cools and the flavour deepens overnight.

What is Gyusuji Nikomi?

Gyusuji (牛すじ) refers to beef tendon and connective tissue — the sinewy trim from around joints and cheaper cuts. Nikomi (煮込み) means “simmered” or “stewed.” It is a classic izakaya dish in Japan, often ordered with beer or shochu.

Regional variations differ significantly:

Osaka-style uses red miso and often includes doteyaki flavours — sweet, rich, and salty.
Nagoya-style leans heavily on hatcho miso (dark bean miso) and can be quite intense.
My version uses white miso — closer to a light Kyoto-style — with daikon and konnyaku for bulk.

Finding Beef Sinew Outside Japan

In Japan, gyusuji is sold in every supermarket. In the US or UK, it usually is not labeled on the shelf but every butcher has it. Ask for beef tendon or beef sinew — most butchers will hand it over cheap because it is a trim cut. Korean and Chinese grocery stores also stock it (labeled 우족 or 牛筋).

Raw beef sinew (gyusuji) on a styrofoam grocery tray — a mix of dark red meat, translucent connective tissue, and white fat, ready to be blanched for Japanese beef stew

Ingredients

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Beef sinew (gyusuji)	200 g	Or beef tendon, in one piece
Daikon radish	300 g	Peeled, cut into 2 cm cubes
Konnyaku	1 block (250 g)	Cut into 2 cm cubes
Ginger	3 slices	Peeled
Scallion, green part	1 whole stalk	For simmering, removed before serving
Scallion, white and light green	a few tablespoons	Chopped, for garnish
Sake	2 tbsp
Sugar	2 tbsp
Soy sauce	1 tbsp
White miso	2 tbsp	Or red miso for a bolder Osaka-style version
Water	250 ml
Ichimi togarashi	to taste	Optional, for serving

I use my Iris Ohyama electric pressure cooker — the same one I use for nikujaga and Japanese curry. It handles the collagen-heavy sinew without needing constant attention.

How to Make Gyusuji Nikomi

Step 1: Pre-Boil the Beef Sinew (aku-nuki)

This is the most important step. Sinew straight out of the package has a strong smell and releases a lot of grey scum (aku) as it cooks. If you skip this, your broth will taste muddy.

Bring a large pot of water to a full rolling boil. Drop the beef sinew in and boil hard for about 2 minutes.

Raw beef sinew dropped into a pot of already-boiling water on an IH cooktop — the first blanching step for Japanese gyusuji nikomi

You will see grey foam and blood rise quickly to the surface. That is the impurities coming out.

A pot of cloudy grey water with foam and scum rising to the surface as beef sinew boils — the impurities being drawn out for clean Japanese gyusuji nikomi broth

Drain the pot into a strainer in the sink and rinse the beef under cold running water, rubbing gently to wash off any clinging scum. If the meat still looks or smells strong, repeat the whole process one more time. Twice is usually enough.

Blanched beef sinew being rinsed under cold running water in a metal strainer — an essential step to remove impurities and smell for Japanese gyusuji nikomi

Once the beef is clean, cut it into rough bite-sized cubes (about 2 cm). It should already feel tender enough to cut easily.

Pre-boiled beef sinew cut into bite-sized cubes on a white cutting board — pale brown and tender after the aku-nuki blanching step

Step 2: Prepare the Konnyaku

Konnyaku (ita-konnyaku, the block kind) also needs pre-treatment. Straight from the package it has a rubbery texture and a slight mineral smell.

A package of Japanese ita-konnyaku (block konjac) and the pale brown block itself, unwrapped on a black tray — a traditional ingredient for gyusuji nikomi

You have two options for shaping the konnyaku, and it is worth understanding the trade-off:

Tearing with a spoon (traditional). Scoop out rough bite-sized pieces from the block using the edge of a spoon. The torn, jagged surfaces grab and hold the miso broth far better than clean knife cuts — this is the classic Japanese approach and what the Delish Kitchen recipe calls for.
Cutting into cubes (for presentation). Cleaner-looking in the finished bowl, easier to match the daikon size. I cut mine into 2 cm cubes for the photos here — it looks tidy but does not soak up quite as much flavour.

Whichever method you choose, put the pieces into a small bowl and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt. Rub the salt into the konnyaku with your hands for about a minute — you will feel the surface become slightly rougher and see a little water come out. This is the alkaline moisture leaving.

Cubed konnyaku with a pile of salt sprinkled on top, sitting on a black tray, ready to be salt-rubbed — a traditional Japanese preparation step

Bring another small pot of water to a boil. Add the salted konnyaku and boil for 2 minutes. Drain. This removes the last of the mineral smell and helps the konnyaku absorb the miso broth later.

Step 3: Cut the Vegetables

Peel the daikon and cut it into 2 cm cubes — the same size as the konnyaku. Uniform cubes cook evenly under pressure and look tidy in the finished bowl.

Cubed pre-treated konnyaku on the left and cubed white daikon on the right, arranged on a stainless steel tray — cut to matching 2 cm cubes for Japanese gyusuji nikomi

Step 4: Assemble in the Pressure Cooker

Put the beef, daikon, and konnyaku into the pressure cooker pot. Add the ginger slices and the whole green scallion stalk. In a small bowl, whisk together the sake, sugar, soy sauce, white miso, and water until smooth, then pour it over the ingredients.

An electric pressure cooker pot filled with beef sinew, cubed daikon, konnyaku, sliced ginger, and a whole scallion green — with bottles of mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar, and white miso arranged in the background, ready to cook Japanese gyusuji nikomi

Tear off a piece of aluminum foil and lay it directly on the surface of the ingredients as a makeshift otoshibuta (drop lid). Poke a small hole in the centre so steam can escape into the pressure cooker cavity above. This keeps the top layer of ingredients submerged and cooking evenly.

A crumpled sheet of aluminum foil laid directly on the surface of the ingredients in the electric pressure cooker pot — a makeshift otoshibuta drop lid for Japanese gyusuji nikomi

Step 5: Pressure Cook

Close the lid, set the valve to sealed, and pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally — do not force it. Total time from close-to-open is around 40 minutes.

An Iris Ohyama electric pressure cooker (PC-MA4) on a wooden counter, its digital display showing 0:15 remaining while the beef sinew stew cooks under pressure

Once the pressure is fully released, open the lid, lift out the aluminum foil, and remove the green scallion and ginger slices. The broth should be dark, glossy, and smell deeply savoury.

The finished gyusuji nikomi inside the electric pressure cooker — tender beef sinew, cubed daikon, and konnyaku swimming in a rich dark miso broth with the spent green scallion stalks floating on top

Step 6: Reduce and Serve

Switch the cooker to sauté or nabe mode (or transfer everything to a regular pan) and simmer uncovered until the broth reduces by about a third and coats the ingredients glossily. Taste — if it needs another spoon of miso, add it now.

Ladle into small bowls. Top with chopped scallion and a generous dusting of ichimi togarashi (Japanese red chili powder). Serve hot with rice, or on its own as a drinking snack.

The finished gyusuji nikomi plated in a blue-and-white Japanese bowl on a wooden table — glossy braised beef, daikon, and konnyaku topped with chopped scallion and red ichimi togarashi chili powder

Tips and Variations

Make it a day ahead. Gyusuji nikomi is one of those dishes that genuinely improves overnight in the fridge. The gelatin from the sinew sets the broth, and the flavours meld.
Red miso for Osaka-style. Swap the white miso for the same amount of red (aka) miso for the classic izakaya flavour. Reduce the sugar slightly if you do.
Add carrot. The original Delish Kitchen recipe includes half a carrot cut into half-moons. I skipped it, but it adds nice colour if you have one.
Stovetop version. Simmer covered on low for 2–3 hours, topping up water as needed. The pre-boil and konnyaku salt rub are the same.
Serve over rice or udon. The broth is so good, you can spoon it and a few pieces over hot rice for gyusuji-don, or add it to udon noodles.

What to Serve It With

A bowl of hot white rice — the broth is meant to be spooned over it.
Tataki ume kyuri — a clean sour cucumber side to cut the richness.
Miso soup and pickles for a full ichiju-sansai meal.
Cold beer or a small glass of shochu — this is classic izakaya drinking food.

Storing and Reheating

Cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Keeps 3–4 days in the fridge; the broth will set into a soft jelly from the collagen. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave until piping hot. Also freezes well for up to a month.