WAGYU WITH AUTUMN-LEAF RADISH
Good-quality Japanese beef (Wagyu) is heavily marbled and quite rich, so it’s better to share it. This dish is how I approach eating meat – pick the best quality meat you can, cook it well, serve it simply and share it.
SERVES 2
PREPARATION TIME 10 MINS
COOKING TIME 10 MINS
INGREDIENTS
½ tsp vegetable oil
1 wagyu sirloin steak (about 250g)
1 tsp salt
Lemon wedge, to serve
1 tsp Boosted Soy Sauce, to serve
AUTUMN-LEAF RADISH
1 red bird’s-eye chilli Block of peeled daikon (about 5cm square and 8cm long)
METHOD
1 To make the Autumn-leaf Radish, cut the stalk from the chilli and remove the seeds from the centre with a skewer. Using a pointed chopstick, poke a hole into the daikon block a little longer than the chilli. Place the chilli over the end of the chopstick and push it into the hole. Alternatively, you can cut a slit into the end of the daikon and push a sliver of chilli inside. Grate the daikon block with a fine Japanese grater or rasp grater, pushing the chilli side directly onto the grater. Transfer the grated daikon to a fine sieve and allow to stand for 5 minutes to drain off any excess moisture released by the daikon.
2 Heat a heavy-based frying pan over high heat and coat the base with a little vegetable oil. Season the steak well with salt and fry to medium rare. Rest well, and slice into thick slices.
3 Place the sliced steak onto a warmed plate with a small pile of the Autumn-leaf Radish and a wedge of lemon. Serve with the Boosted Soy Sauce.
The lightly spicy ‘autumn-leaf radish’ (momiji-oroshi) is named because its colour resembles that of Japanese maple leaves in autumn.
A little pile of wasabi is a great substitute if you don’t want to go to the effort of making it.
BOOSTED SOY SAUCE
I use this soy sauce in place of normal. Light soy sauce for absolutely everything. It’s lighter and less salty, but has a richer and more balanced flavour.
MAKES ABOUT 750ML
PREPARATION TIME 5 MINS
COOKING TIME 10 MINS, PLUS 1 HOUR STANDING
INGREDIENTS
- 150ml sake
- 100ml mirin
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 500ml light soy sauce
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- Handful of large bonito flakes (about 5g)
METHOD
1 Place the sake, mirin and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Flambé with a blowtorch, match or lighter and allow to burn until burned out. Add the soy sauce and mushrooms and bring back to a simmer. Add the bonito flakes and turn off the heat. Allow the sauce to stand for 1 hour, then drain through a muslin-lined sieve. Store the sauce in an old clean wine bottle or soy sauce bottle in the pantry.
Like most umami-rich foods, this boosted soy sauce improves with age. I usually make a triple or quadruple batch and keep it in a big sealed jar in the pantry. When stocks are getting a little low, I just make a new batch and top it up. It will keep indefinitely.
The Carousel thanks Adam Liaw for this recipe from his book The Zen Kitchen.
