Tataki

Seared hard for seconds on every face and chilled at once, so the inside stays raw.

Beef, Fish. Not vegetarian — contains beef, fish.

Ingredients

• 600 g bonito loin, or beef sirloin in one piece
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 tablespoons ponzu
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 20 g ginger, grated
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 myoga, sliced
• 1 tablespoon oil

Method

1. SEARED FOR SECONDS AND CHILLED AT ONCE. The whole technique is maximum heat for minimum time: 20 to 30 seconds a face over the fiercest heat you have, then straight into iced water or onto ice. The seared layer should be 2 mm deep and everything inside should still be raw.
2. A moderate heat for a minute cooks a grey band inwards, which is the one thing this dish must not have.
3. SALT IT HEAVILY just before searing. It draws the surface dry so it colours rather than steams, and most of it comes off in the chilling.
4. A blowtorch, a gas burner, or a very hot dry pan. Straw gives the smoke this is known for and a chimney of burning straw is not a domestic proposition -- a smoking hot pan is the honest substitute.
5. Pat the loin completely dry first.
6. Sear every face including the ends. Count the seconds; it is faster than instinct says.
7. INTO ICED WATER IMMEDIATELY, 30 seconds, then out and dried thoroughly. That stops the carryover heat cooking the next layer in.
8. Chill 20 minutes before slicing, which firms it enough to cut cleanly.
9. SLICE THICK, 1 cm, across the grain. Thin slices lose the contrast between the seared edge and the raw centre, which is the whole point.
10. Lay on the garlic and ginger, pour the ponzu and soy over, and scatter the spring onion and myoga. Serve cold.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes