Tataki Appetizer Rolls | Sybaritica

Today’s dish will use a few nice thin slices of the Beef Tataki I prepared the other day and will also incorporate some sprouts grown by my wife as part of her on-going sprouting experiment. I have taken as my inspiration a Japanese preparation known as Negimaki in which grilled beef slices are rolled around a central filling (usually, but not exclusively, scallions). In this case, however, the beef strips I am using have only been lightly seared and are thus, for all intents and purposes, largely raw…

The sprouts you see in the top tier of the sprouting container (and the ones I am using here) are radish sprouts… the ones below are lentil sprouts. The radish sprouts have a lovely fresh taste along with the sharp bite of the small red radishes used in salads. They make the same sort of complement to beef as does horseradish or mustard, and thus are perfect here. I tossed the sprouts with just a little Garlic Oil (about a teaspoon or so) and let them sit briefly.

For a little color and additional flavor, I am including some strips of red bell pepper in the center of the rolls. To prepare them, I heated a little oil to the smoking point and then quickly flash-fried the strips just to the point that the surfaces began to blister and speckle with brown spots.

I used some of the thinnest strips obtained from my Tataki. I used 5 pieces, each about 5 x 2.5 x .25 inches or so, and pressed them with the flat side of a knife blade to flatten. On each piece, I placed some sprouts and 3 or 4 strips of pepper and then rolled it up tightly Makizushi style.

Afterwards, I trimmed the edges and then cut each roll obliquely across the center so that two pieces with angled surfaces result.

The Verdict

All sorts of dipping sauces would work nicely here. I made mine using a little hot English Mustard powder, garlic paste, sugar and vinegar, but a Wasabi based equivalent would be suitable also.

The result here was quite attractive, I thought, and my wife and I enjoyed it very much. I am sure I will be asked to make these again and in future attempts I may play around with the ingredients slightly and maybe incorporate some pickled daikon as well.

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