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A bowl of Japanese-style Simmered Potato and Chicken with minced meat and green snap peas, served on a wooden tray with chopsticks, a drink with ice, and a bowl of rice nearby.

Simmered Potato and Chicken

by Namiko Hirasawa Chen
If you love nikujaga but want something faster, this Simmered Potato and Chicken recipe delivers the same cozy sweet-soy flavors in 35 minutes. I’ll show you how to cook perfectly tender potatoes that hold their shape and absorb maximum flavor for a reliable weeknight dish.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients

Servings: 2
  • 6 oz ground chicken (or other ground meat or soy meat)
  • 14 oz Yukon gold potatoes (small)
  • 4–5 snap peas
  • 1 Tbsp neutral oil (for stir-frying)
  • ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for blanching; use ½ the amount for table or fine sea salt; ¾ for Morton kosher salt)

For the Seasonings

For the Slurry

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients.
    Overhead view of raw cooking ingredients for Simmered Potato and Chicken on a wooden surface: ground meat, baby potatoes, snow peas, clear measuring cup with liquid, sliced onions, and small bowls with soy sauce, sugar, and seasonings.

To Cook the Potatoes and Chicken

  • Wash and cut 14 oz Yukon gold potatoes in half crosswise.
    A hand slices a small yellow potato on a wooden cutting board as several quartered yellow potatoes, perfect for Simmered Potato and Chicken, are spread out on the board.
  • Set a medium pot over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp neutral oil. Add 6 oz ground chicken and break up the chunks with a wooden spatula. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the meat crumbles and is no longer pink.
    Three-panel image: First, a hand pours oil into a metal bowl. Second, raw ground meat for Simmered Potato and Chicken is added. Third, the meat is browned and broken up in the bowl.
  • Add the potatoes and stir-fry for 2 minutes until coated with oil.
    Two side-by-side photos show a pot on a stove with halved yellow potatoes and ground chicken being cooked and stirred with a wooden spatula. The potatoes are gradually being mixed, creating a savory Simmered Potato and Chicken dish.
  • Add 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp soy sauce.
    A sequence of three images showing hands adding liquid, sugar, and soy sauce to a pot filled with baby potatoes and minced ingredients for a delicious Simmered Potato and Chicken dish.
  • Add 1½ cups water and reduce to low heat. Place a drop lid (otoshibuta) directly on the ingredients and simmer for 13–15 minutes without stirring, until a skewer pierces a potato easily and the liquid has reduced.
    Nami's Tip: An otoshibuta keeps the potatoes from breaking while simmering and circulates cooking liquid evenly. You can use a stainless steel otoshibuta, or make one with aluminum foil or parchment paper. See What is Otoshibuta (Drop Lid) and How to Make It.
    Two-panel image: Left, water is poured into a pot of halved potatoes in seasoned liquid for Simmered Potato and Chicken; right, a hand places a shiny lid with steam holes onto the pot.

To Blanch the Peas

  • While the potatoes are cooking, remove the strings from 4–5 snap peas. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and add ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
    Close-up of hands snapping the ends off fresh snap peas on the left; on the right, a hand adds salt to a pot of boiling water for simmered potato and chicken on a stove.
  • Add the peas and blanch for 1–2 minutes, until their color brightens. Remove to a tray until cool enough to handle.
    Two side-by-side images: on the left, hands drop green snap peas into boiling water; on the right, a strainer lifts snap peas out of the hot water over a stove—perfect as a fresh side for simmered potato and chicken.
  • Run the tip of a knife along the bottom edge of each pod and open it like a book. Keep the half with the peas for garnish and slice off the other half.
    Two side-by-side photos show hands using a knife to slice open a sugar snap pea on a wooden cutting board, next to simmered potato and chicken, revealing the peas inside.

To Thicken the Sauce

  • Add 2 tsp potato starch or cornstarch to 1 Tbsp water in a small bowl and stir until combined to make a slurry.
    Two photos: on the left, a hand adds a spoonful of white cornstarch to a clear bowl; on the right, a hand stirs a cloudy white mixture—an essential step when preparing Simmered Potato and Chicken—using a wooden stick in the same bowl.
  • Remove the drop lid and add the starch slurry. Stir with chopsticks until the sauce thickens. Check the potatoes are tender with a skewer, then turn off the heat.
    Nami's Tip: Serve it now or rest it, uncovered, in the pot for 30–60 minutes and gently reheat before serving. The potatoes will soak up more flavor as they cool. You can also refrigerate it overnight—it tastes even better the next day.
    Two images side by side show a pot of Simmered Potato and Chicken in a reddish broth. On the left, a hand pours liquid into the pot; on the right, chopsticks stir the flavorful mixture as it cooks.

To Serve

  • Serve in individual bowls and garnish with snap peas.
    Two images: Left shows a pot of Simmered Potato and Chicken in a brown sauce, garnished with minced meat. Right shows the dish served in a bowl, topped with green peas and minced meat.

To Store

  • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Do not freeze, as the texture of potatoes will change. To serve, reheat gently over medium heat.

Notes

Variations and Customizations
  • Vegan version. Swap the ground chicken for a plant-based mince and use vegetable stock, Vegan Dashi, or water as the base.
  • Different protein. Ground pork or thinly sliced beef mirror nikujaga even more closely. I don't recommend chicken breast, as it will dry out.
  • Add vegetables. Onion wedges, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, or konnyaku (konjac) are all classic additions.
  • Gluten-free. Use tamari and double-check your mirin label.
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