7/18/24, 10:05 AM Beef Tataki - RecipeTin Eats

Beef Tataki
Recipe video above. Here's a Beef Tataki recipe, a fusion Japanese restaurant
favorite with thinly sliced beef in a citrusy dressing. Making it at home costs a
fraction of eating out!

I make the deluxe restaurant version with beef tenderloin, crispy potato
straws, and garlic oil for entertaining. Whereas the steak version with Asian
Sesame Dressing and a sprinkle of crispy fried shallots with a side of Smashed
Cucumbers and Garlic Pot-Steamed Rice is my sort of Monday night meal! 4 from 1 vote

Serves 2 as a main with sides or 4 as a starter as part of a larger banquet (see my new fusion
Japanese menu here).

Prep Time Cook Time Chilling / resting

20 mins 30 mins 3 hrs

Course: Main, Starter Cuisine: fusion japanese, Modern Asian Keyword: beef tataki, tataki
Servings: 4 Author: Nagi

Ingredients
Beef - choose ONE:
250g / 8 oz beef tenderloin/fillet (PREMIUM option) - thin piece 13-15cm long (5-6"), cut to
even thickness (Note 1)
300g /10 oz sirloin steak (aka Porterhouse in Australia, US: New York strip) (Note 2) - EASIER

Cooking:
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Yuzu Dressing (Note 3 other options):

1 tbsp cooking sake (Note 4)
2 tsp mirin (Note 4)
1 tbsp rice vinegar (substitute apple cider vinegar)
1 1/2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce , regular (Note 5)
1 tbsp yuzu , or 1/2 tbsp each lime and lemon juice (Note 6)

Garlic oil (optional, Note 7)

2 tbsp grapeseed oil (rapeseed oil or light olive oil)
3 garlic cloves , sliced 2 mm thick

Crispy topping options - CHOOSE ONE

Crispy potato straws (Pommes Paille, pictured, "fancier" option!)
Crispy fried shallots (store bought, easy option)

Garnish:
1 green onion , finely sliced (optional curling, Note 8)

Instructions
Beef tenderloin:
1. Prep - Preheat the oven to 130°C / 275°F (all oven types). Rub the beef with the oil and
sprinkle with salt. Place on a rack set on a tray.
2. Roast for 18 - 20 minutes or until the internal temperature in the middle is 41°C / 105°F
(check first at 15 minutes, Note 9).

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3. Sear - Heat a cast iron skillet on high heat until it is smoking. Sear each side of the beef for
just 10 seconds, no longer (I do 4 sides).
4. Cool - Transfer the beef onto a rack on a tray. Cool for 30 minutes on the counter then
refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours.
5. Thinly slice - When ready to serve, slice it as thinly as you can without tearing the beef,
aiming for 3mm / 1/16" but up to 5mm / 1/8" thick is fine. (Note 10 for tips)

Yuzu dressing:
1. Place the sake and mini in a tiny saucepan on low heat. Bring to a simmer, then simmer for 1
minute. Pour into a bowl, let it cool. Then stir in remaining dressing ingredients.

Garlic infused oil:

1. Put the garlic and oil in a tiny saucepan on low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a few
times, until the garlic is light golden. Cool for 15 minutes then strain (reserve crispy garlic for
another use)

Assemble:
1. Plate up - Lay the beef slices on a plate, overlapping slightly. Drizzle with 3-4 tbsp of the
Dressing, then 1 1/2 tbsp of the garlic oil. Pile the crispy potato in a heap in the middle,
sprinkle with green onion. (Or use the easy steak garnish options above instead).
2. To eat - Serve straight away. Make sure you get some crispy potato in every bite, and squidge
the beef around in the tasty sauce.

Easy steak option:

1. Cook - Rub the steak with the oil then sprinkle with the salt. Heat a cast iron skillet on high
heat until it is smoking. Cook the steak to rare (1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side, but it will
depend on thickness of steak), or to your taste (Note 11 for doneness). Cool & thinly slice
steak per beef tenderloin steps above.
2. Assemble - Place the slices in a line, slightly overlapping. Drizzle over Dressing and oil (or
alternative Sauce of choice). Sprinkle crispy fried shallots down the centre then green onion.
Serve!

Notes
1. Beef tenderloin is an ideal cut for dishes like this where beef is served rare or raw. You can go
up to around 300g/10oz, there's enough sauce.

Beef shape - Aim to get a thin one that is 13 - 15cm / 5-6" long for a 250g/8oz piece. If it is
shorter your 250g/8oz piece will be fatter, so slicing thinly is very tricky, even with par-freezing
(read in post for more info). If your 250g/8oz piece is shorter than 11.5cm / 4.5", I recommend
cutting the beef in half lengthwise to form 2 thinner pieces. Trust me on this. Read in post for
grievances I've experienced! Cut to even thickness so it cooks evenly.

2. Steak option - Easier to get, easier to slice! There is less rare meat and more seared surface
area, but still very, very tasty. Not as common in restaurants but I have seen it (like Toko in Sydney).

3. Other Asian sauces that will work well here (skip the garlic oil as these have oil in them):

Asian Sesame Dressing

Ginger garlic dressing from Beef Soba Noodles
Dressing for the Tuna Poke Bowl
4. Cooking sake and mirin - essential cooking wines in Japanese cooking! Find them in the Asian
aisle of large grocery stores, as well as Asian stores. If you can't consume alcohol or find them,
suggest using one of the alternate sauces in Note 3.

5. Soy sauce - sub any all-purpose or light soy sauce, NOT dark soy (too strong, will ruin!)

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6. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that is sold in Japanese stores and some Asian grocery stores.
Substitute with equal parts lemon and lime, fairly similar.

7. Garlic oil - Infused with lovely hint of garlic flavour. But optional! Substitute with 2 tsp sesame
oil or extra virgin olive oil (totally works with the fusion Asian flavours).

8. Curled green onion - finely slice on the diagonal then place in cold water and put in the fridge
for 15 to 30 minutes until it curls (fresher = curls faster, floppy and old = takes longer!). Then drain,
dry and use.

9. Cook times - exact cook times will vary due to many factors so check early. For rare beef, aim
for 41°C / 105°F which will rise to 49-51°C/120-124°F (rare).

10. Slicing beef - Use a sharp knife and hold the sides firmly as you slice (stops edges crumbling).
Slice as thinly as you can without tearing the beef. Don't fret if you do, once the plate is all dressed
up, you can't see tears! If your slices are on the thicker side, don't worry, it is still really tasty (and
thankfully we cooked the beef to rare so you don't end up with mouthfuls of raw beef), you just
end up with less slices.

11. Steak doneness:

Make ahead - The Dressing can be made 12 hours ahead (yuzu loses freshness with time), Crispy
Potato Straws stays crisp 3 - 4 days, garlic oil keeps 3 days. Beef can be made the morning of to
serve that night (if left overnight, meat does lose some juiciness).

Another great recipe by recipetineats.com

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