Tag: East Asian
Tuna Tataki with Ponzu Sauce
Tuna Tataki with Ponzu Sauce
You’ve probably had tuna tataki as an appetizer at whatever sushi restaurant you dine at. You end up paying $10 for a couple of slices of tuna. You can easily make twice the amount of tuna tataki at home for a fraction of the price and still have it be restaurant quality.The most important thing in making tuna tataki is to have the highest sushi grade possible. You can find it fresh at most higher end grocery stores and fish markets. I found a nice piece of sashimi grade yellowfin cut into a rectangular block that was vacuum sealed and frozen at my local Asian for about $13lb. It was better quality than what I expected. With a block that size, I was able to cut 4 equal rectangular bricks out of the loin. The tuna gets seasoned on the 4 long sides with sea salt and cracked pepper. Make sure to let the tuna rest at room temp for 30 minutes before cooking.When ready to cook, heat up some cooking oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Place one of the loins in the pan, searing for no more than 20 seconds. Then cook the other 3 sides for 20 seconds each. I literally count to 20 out loud because the cooking process goes by quick. The goal is to have an 1/8” sear around the entire block. Then let the loin cool completely before slicing. Slice the loin into 1/4” slices. I arranged the tataki on a plate and spooned over some homemade ponzu sauce, which is a Japanese citrus soy sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and you’ll have one of the best and easiest to prepare appetizers that will impress many a dinner guest.
Ingredients
- 8 oz sashimi grade yellowfin tuna
- sea salt
- cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Ponzu Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 0.2 oz bonito flakes 1 packet
- 2”x3” kombu
Garnish
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all of the ponzu ingredients together. Let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Strain the ponzu sauce. Set aside.
- Let tuna sit at room temp for 30 minutes before preparing.
- Cut the tuna loin in half, then cut 2 equally sized blocks out of the loin. The piece of tuna I had was 1lb, and I only needed half of it. I vacuum sealed what I wasn’t going to use and froze down.
- Season the tuna with sea salt and cracked pepper on the 4 long sides, leaving the two short square sides unseasoned.
- Heat up vegetable oil in a small nonstick skillet over high heat; almost to the point where the oil begins to smoke. Place one of the tuna blocks in the center of the skillet, searing for no more than 20 seconds.
- Flip over to the next side and sear for 20 seconds.
- Flip to the next side and sear for 20 seconds. Flip onto the 4th side and sear for a final 20 seconds.
- Let the tuna rest for a minute or two. You don’t want to cut the tuna when it is still hot.
- Slice the tuna no more than a 1/4” thick.
NY Strip Bulgogi
NY Strip Bulgogi
Want your bulgogi to be a little more extravagant? Try using a higher end cut like a NY strip steak. Trim off the fat cap (in any other cirmstances, I’d call this blasphemeat), then slice on a bias 1/4” pieces. You want the pieces thicker than the traditional paper thin slices used with regular bulgogi. The beef gets marinated for an hour. You can then either broil or sear the beef in a grill pan. The beef will take 5 minutes total time to cook. Serve the bulgogi with perilla leaves. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 lb strip loin steak
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp pineapple juice
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- perilla leaves for serving
Garnish
- green onions finely chopped
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Trim all of the fat from the strip loin.
- Slice the strip loin on a bias into 1/4” thick slices.
- Mix together the marinade ingredients.
- Marinate the beef for 1 hour.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the beef on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil.
- Broil for 2-3 minutes a side. Alternatively, you can sear the beef in a grill pan over high heat. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan.
Kimbap
Kimbap
Kimbap is one of the most popular foods in Korea. Resembling sushi, these rice rolls of multi layered complexity are fairly time consuming to make, but are very addicting. Each of the ingredients have a few steps in preparation. The classic ingredients in kimbap are beef, carrots, fish cakes, pickled radish, spinach, and julienned omelette; rolled in nori with steamed rice seasoned with sesame oil. These are best eaten the day they are made, but can be slightly warmed up in the microwave. Since there is so much going on with kimbap, they are served without sauce.
Equipment
- sushi rolling mat
- serrated knife
Ingredients
Rice
- 3 cups steamed short grain rice
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp salt
Beef
- 8 oz ground beef or thinly julienned sirloin
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
Fish Cakes
- 1 sheet fish cake cut into 3/4” strips
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Spinach
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Eggs
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
Carrots
- 1 large carrots julienned
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Other Ingredients
- 4 strips pickled radish
- 4 sheets nori
Instructions
Ingredient Prep
- Brown the beef in a sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Season with soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 1 minute.
- Shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Squeeze out the water. Season with sesame oil and salt. Set aside.
- Heat up vegetable oil in a small sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the carrots for 2 minutes. Season with salt. Set aside.
- Add cooking oil to the pan. Pour in the beaten eggs.
- Cook for 1 minute a side. Cut into 3/4” thick strips. Set aside.
- Add cooking oil to the pan. Add in the fish cakes. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Sauté for 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Finally, stir in the sesame oil and salt to the steamed rice. Let cool slightly.
Kimbap Assembly
- Gather all of the kimbap ingredients together.
- Lay a sheet of nori on a bamboo sushi rolling mat; shiny side down. Place 3/4 cup of the rice in a thin layer on the nori sheet.
- Leave a 1/2” of rice uncovered across the bottom of the sheet. Then place thin layers of each ingredient starting from the bottom in the specific order: beef, carrots, fish cakes, pickled radish, and egg. You should use no more than 2/3 of the sheet to layer your ingredients, with the top 1/3 just rice. It is very important to not overstuff the nori.
- Using the bottom of the rolling mat, roll over the top. Press it tightly.
- Unroll the mat. Bring the roll back to the bottom and roll it tightly again, making sur the bottom is sealed.
- Using a serrated knife, slice 1” thick pieces of the kimbap roll.
