Japan and beef have an interesting history. For centuries, the eating of beef (along with most other meats) was prohibited in Japan - in the years before mechanisation this made great sense - livestock such as oxen performed a lot of tasks, so killing them for food just wasn't feasible. Second, Japan's landmass is 80% mountains so again, raising animals on pasture wasn't an option either. But attitudes and technology changed and so did Japanese eating habits.
Steak remained (and to an extent remains) a great luxury in Japan - so when it is eaten, the emphasis is on quality and taste rather than quantity.
I like to think my recipe for steak salad ticks those particular boxes - the steak is pan fried to medium rare, sliced and partnered with a sweet, sticky Japanese onion sauce. It's served up with a healthy salad of spinach, broccoli, peppers and tomatoes - all in all, a healthy, tasty way to enjoy good beef.
You can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Japanese Steak salad and onion sauce hJapanese Onion sauce or scroll down to the bottom of the page. The written recipes are just below.
Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.
If you wish to partner this with another Japanese dish, why not try my Aubergine in a spicy Soy marinade.
Japanese Steak salad with Onion sauce
ingredients:
(2 servings)
70g baby spinach
80g stem broccoli
70g yellow pepper
80g baby tomatoes
50g peeled red onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 sirloin steaks
Japanese onion sauce:
110g peeled onion
30g peeled carrot
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
how to:
finely slice the onion then soak in water for 15mins (changing the water once)
finely slice the pepper
halve the tomatoes
blanche the stem broccoli in boiling water for 2 mins
heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and fry the steaks for 1 min each side over a high heat
turn the steaks over, reduce the heat to medium and fry for 3 mins each side
mix all the vegetables together in a bowl and divide the salad between your two plates
to make the onion sauce:
thinnly slice the garlic, carrot & onion
heat the oil in a pan and stir-fry the garlic, carrot & onion over a medium heat for 3 mins
add the soy sauce, mirin, cooking sake & vinegar and simmer for 3 mins
put it in a blender and blend well - your onion sauce is ready
slice the steaks into 1cm strips and place on the salad
pour the japanese onion sauce over the steaks and serve
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