My Asian Kitchen

Beef Tataki with Garlic Chips and Ponzu Onion Dressing

Tataki is one step away from raw, but involves a quick searing before thinly slicing. To avoid the fragile pieces falling apart, I wrap the beef tightly in plastic wrap after browning and refrigerate before slicing. The garlic chips take this Japanese classic up a level, but if you don't have time, the ponzu onion dressing still makes this dish.

Serves 4

Prep 20 Minutes, Plus 2 Hours Chilling
Cook 5 Minutes

Ingredients

300 g (101/2 oz) beef fillet 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped chives

 

Ponzu Onion Dressing:
4 tsp Japanese light soy sauce 2 tbsp finely diced shallots
45 ml (11/2 fl oz) yuzu juice
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp grated ginger

 

Garlic Chips:
3 garlic cloves
125 ml (41/2 fl oz) vegetable oil

Method
Slice the meat into two 10 cm (4 inch) long cylindrical pieces. Season the beef well using lots of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat a frying pan with the vegetable oil and sear the meat on all sides until it is browned and sealed, about 2–3 minutes.

Remove from the pan and let cool for a few minutes. Wrap the beef very tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours ahead.
Mix the ponzu onion dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
To make the garlic chips, finely slice the garlic on a mandoline or using a sharp knife. Add the oil and garlic to a small frying pan or small saucepan. Keep the heat on medium–low and let the garlic slowly get crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon when golden and let dry on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. You can make these chips a day in advance and keep in a covered container lined with a small piece of baking paper.
Thinly slice the beef, arrange on a platter and pour the dressing over. Top with the garlic chips and chives and serve.

Note: Be sure to avoid any garlic cloves that have a green kernel inside as it is very bitter.
It sounds strange not to heat the oil first when frying the garlic, but it's a very successful method for getting the garlic crisp and evenly cooked.

My Asian Kitchen

A celebration of modern Asian cooking, in 100 healthy, flavour-packed traditional and modern dishes.

Bao buns, pho, sushi, poke bowls, gyoza, ramen and kimchi have devotees on every high street - now Jennifer Joyce shows how easy it is to create these zingy, fresh, healthy flavours at home. From grilled sticky skewers and steak tacos, salads, rice bowls and dumplings, to prawn katsu bao and miso-glazed ribs, this is an adventure in the dazzling diversity of modern Asian cooking. Jennifer's exquisitely simple recipes, no-nonsense explanation of ingredients, hand-drawn diagrams and beautiful photographs are all you need to start cooking in your very own Asian Kitchen.

Jennifer Joyce is a successful food writer, author and stylist based in London. She is American-born but has been resident in the UK for more than 24 years. Working for leading UK magazines and newspapers, such as BBC Good Food, Waitrose Kitchen and Jamie Magazine as well as The Guardian and Daily Telegraph, she draws on her unique dual talents of creating mouth-watering recipes and styling the dishes for photography. Leiths School of Food and Wine in London hosts Jennifer's popular cookery classes and she has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows in the UK and US, including the BBC's Today and Good Food Show Live. My Asian Kitchen is Jennifer's eleventh book. Her previous titles for Murdoch Books are My Street Food Kitchen, Meals in Heels and Skinny Meals in Heels.

My Asian Kitchen
Murdoch Books
Author: Jennifer Joyce
ISBN: 9781760522704
RRP: $39.99

Grilled Beef Salad with Sesame Maple Dressing

This dish has a bit of all the elements you crave in a good salad: crisp, chopped veggies, grilled meat and a punchy dressing. The list of ingredients might seem long, but it takes very little time to throw it all together. If you don't want to make the lotus wafers, you can buy them, replace them with something crunchy like rice crackers or just leave them out.

Serves 4
Prep 20 Minutes, Plus 2 Hours Marinating
Cook 35 Minutes

Ingredients
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) bavette, skirt or sirloin steak
2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 tsp vegetable oil
Lotus wafers (see page 44)
Sesame Maple Dressing 60 g (2 oz) sesame seeds
60 ml (2 fl oz) light soy sauce 60 ml (2 fl oz) rice vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup 2 tsp sesame oil

Salad:
200 g (7 oz) cherry tomatoes
10 large red radishes
6 spring onions (scallions)
2 baby cucumbers
3 large heritage carrots
2 avocados 100 g (31/2 oz) watercress, mizuna,
baby kale or wild rocket (arugula)

Method
Place the steaks in a zip lock bag and add the garlic, soy, honey and ginger. Marinate for 2 hours or up to overnight refrigerated.
To make the sesame maple dressing, place the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and let them slowly turn golden, about 10 minutes. Place in a blender with the remaining dressing ingredients and blend until it's a fine liquid. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.
Heat a chargrill pan or outdoor grill. Brush the steak with the oil and grill on direct heat for 3–4 minutes each side for medium rare. Bavette/skirt steak can vary in thickness so if you have a very fat piece, leave it on the heat a little longer. Once cooked, let the steak rest for 10 minutes under foil. Thinly slice and set aside.
To make the salad, halve the cherry tomatoes, thinly slice the radishes and spring onions and cut the baby cucumbers into coins. Slice the carrots into ribbons using a potato peeler and cut the avocados into 4 cm (11⁄2 inch) cubes. Place all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl and add the beef and lotus wafers.
Pour the sesame maple dressing over the salad and toss together. Arrange on a platter to serve.

My Asian Kitchen
Murdoch Books
Author: Jennifer Joyce
ISBN: 9781760522704
RRP: $39.99
Images and recipes from My Asian Kitchen by Jennifer Joyce.
Photography by Phil Webb, Illustrations by Riley Joyce'.