RecipeTin Eats’ beef tataki

Name: RecipeTin Eats’ beef tataki
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6 as part of a banquet
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 200g beef fillet, trimmed to equal thickness (about 11cm long); ½ tsp salt; ½ tbsp vegetable oil

Nagi Maehashi

October 5, 2023

Beef tataki with crispy potato.Rob Palmer; Styling: Emma Knowles

Time:1-2 hoursServes:6 as part of a banquet

In my (totally biased) opinion, beef tataki is the best possible use of eye-fillet steak. Cooked until rare so it’s as juicy as can be, it’s finely sliced then served at room temperature with a tasty sauce and crunchy shards of potato for textural contrast.

You can switch the potato for store-bought crispy fried Asian shallots. But don’t skip the garlic oil. It takes only minutes to make but really is the perfect finishing touch.

You’d pay $40 for a serving this size at a good Japanese izakaya. This will cost you a fraction of that.

Ingredients

200g beef fillet, trimmed to equal thickness (about 11cm long)
½ tsp salt
½ tbsp vegetable oil

Garlic oil

2 tbsp grapeseed oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced 2mm thick

Ponzu-style sauce

1 tbsp cooking sake
2 tsp mirin
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1½ tbsp light Japanese soy sauce (sub all-purpose soy, preferably Japanese)
1 tbsp yuzu (see note)

Crispy shredded potatoes

1 cup Sebago potatoes, finely shredded lengthways (see note)
1½ cups oil
2 pinches salt flakes, crushed with fingers into powder

Garnish

½ spring onion, finely sliced on the diagonal

Method

Step 1
Dry brine: Pat beef dry, sprinkle with salt. Leave overnight on a rack, uncovered, in the fridge. (If you’re in a rush, you can skip the brine.)
Step 2
Sear the beef: Remove the beef from the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Heat a cast-iron frying pan until smoking. Add the oil and sear the beef all over, then transfer the beef (and pan) to the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 45C (see note). Transfer the beef to a rack and cool on the counter (about 1 hour), then cling wrap tightly and put in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Ponzu-style sauce: Put the sake and mirin in a tiny saucepan on low heat. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute. Pour into a small bowl and allow to cool. Add the vinegar, soy sauce and yuzu juice, mix and set aside.
Step 4
Garlic oil: Put the oil and garlic in a tiny saucepan on low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes or until garlic is lightly golden. Remove from the stove and let the oil cool. Strain, discard the garlic, and set aside.
Step 5
Curly spring onion: Put the spring onion in a small bowl of ice water for 10 minutes or until it curls. Drain.
Step 6
Remove the beef from the freezer and cut into fine slices. Place the slices on a plate, overlapping slightly, and allow the pieces to come to room temperature (about 20 minutes).
Step 7
Crispy potato: Rinse the shredded potato in a colander until water runs clean. Spread it on a tea towel and gently pat dry. Preheat the oil to 180C (check with a thermometer) in a medium saucepan, making sure the oil is at least 8cm below the rim. Deep-fry the potato in small batches, using chopsticks to separate, until it is lightly golden, about 1 minute. Be careful: the oil will bubble up about 5cm when you add the potato. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining potato. Once you’ve finished, transfer the potato to a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss.
Step 8
To assemble: Drizzle some sauce over the beef (you might not use all of it), then 1 tablespoon of garlic oil. Mound some of the fried potatoes in the middle (place the remaining potato in a small bowl and serve as a side dish), and scatter on some curly spring onion.
Step 9
To eat: Squidge the beef in the sauce and make sure to get some crispy potato!

Notes

Yuzu is a Japanese citrus. The juice is sold in bottles at Japanese and some Asian grocery stores but you can substitute with equal parts lemon and lime juice.
A mandoline for julienning will be handy for the potato. Otherwise, finely slice then cut into fine batons. The finer they are, the crispier they will be.
The beef is meant to be served rare. So yes, really, pull it out of the oven when the internal temperature hits 45C. The temperature will rise to 52C (rare) as it rests.