Ginger Beef Tataki with Lemon Soy Dipping Sauce

Originally from Epicurious.com

The term tataki refers to beef or fish that is seared, then chilled, marinated and thinly sliced.

I have been making this recipe for about 6 years now and everyones eyes still light up when I tell them it is coming out. It is something that I do for special occasions because of the length of time that it takes to make. Not so much in the active cooking, but the fact that you work on it for about 30-45 minutes and then you wait 4 hours while it is marinating. This may not seem like such a big deal until you’ve had it and can’t wait for it to come out again.

Ginger Beef Tataki

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 2-pound piece beef tenderloin, trimmed

Marinade:

6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, flattened

Garnish:

6 tablespoons finely grated peeled daikon (Japanese white radish)
6 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
4 green onions, very finely chopped
2 lemons, cut into wedges

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub 1 tablespoon oil over beef. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef to skillet and cook until brown, turning often, about 5 minutes.

Transfer beef to roasting pan. Roast beef in oven until thermometer inserted into center registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 35 minutes. Cool. Combine soy sauce and next 6 ingredients in large resealable plastic bag. Add beef to marinade. Cover and refrigerate until beef is cold, turning in marinade occasionally, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. Discard marinade from beef. Cut beef into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cover and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Arrange beef on plates. Spoon small mounds of daikon, ginger and green onions onto plates. Garnish with lemon wedges and shiso. Serve with individual bowls of Lemon-Soy Dipping Sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Lemon Soy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon dried bonito shavings (katsuo-bushi)

Instructions

Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, mirin, 2 tablespoons water and bonito in small bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Strain sauce through fine strainer; discard bonito shavings. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

Makes about 1 cup.

Notes

What are some replacements?

• I have had good luck with a rump roast instead of the expensive tenderloin. Maybe if you are trying to impress someone you can use the tenderloin. Just slice it as thin as you can and it will be hard to tell the difference.
• The entire Lemon Soy Dipping sauce can be replaced with Ponzu (usually you will have to go to an asian market for this). For all intensive purposes the same thing.
• For the garnish I sometimes substitute sushi ginger for the fresh ginger. It provides a nice sweetness to go along with the salt of the dipping sauce.

What can I leave out?

• I have made this with bonito shavings and without. I think it is hard to tell the difference.
• I have had pretty good luck finding daikon radishes almost any where, however, I don’t think they are essential. It is mainly decoration and a garnish.

General

• The most important thing about this dish is the temperature of the meat. Some will say, “That is just too rare for me”. If you are absolutely against eating meat that is less than shoe leather I would just skip this recipe. After the meat has marinated for that amount of time and the juices all pulled back in, you won’t even notice that it isn’t well done.