I love raw beef just as much as cooked beef. Eye fillet is perfect for tataki, due to the subtle flavour of that cut. The dressing is intense in flavour and the ground rice adds nice crunch for texture.

Ingredients

1 x 300g wagyu eye fillet, preferably centre cut
50ml fish sauce
snipped mustard cress, to garnish

Roasted shallot & chilli dressing

2 large red asian shallots, unpeeled
2 red bird’s eye chillies, stems removed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 dried red chillies
50ml fish sauce
50ml lime juice
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon chopped palm sugar

Toasted rice

50g jasmine rice
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 small dried red chilli, broken into a few pieces

Fried shallots

vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 red asian shallots, finely sliced

Method

1. Rub the beef with the fish sauce. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat, then sear the beef for about 15 seconds on each side, so it has a browned exterior but is not really cooked at all. Leave to cool, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

2. For the roasted shallot & chilli dressing

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Rub the unpeeled shallots and bird’s eye chillies with the oil and wrap in foil. Roast for 20–30 minutes, until soft. You may need to pull the chillies out first so they don’t burn. The shallots need to be completely soft.

3. Meanwhile, roast the dried chillies in the oven for 4–5 minutes, until crisp and lightly coloured, but not burnt.

4. Allow the roasted shallots and bird’s eye chillies to cool a little. Cut the tips off and squeeze the insides into a blender. Add the dried chillies and remaining dressing ingredients and blitz until a smooth dressing has formed. Set aside.

5. For the toasted rice

Fry the rice, coriander seeds and chilli pieces in a dry non-stick frying pan over low heat, stirring frequently, until the rice becomes opaque. Using a spice grinder, blitz the mixture to the consistency of coarse sand. Set aside.

6. For the fried shallots

Heat 5 cm of oil in a medium-sized saucepan to 180°C. Fry the shallots until golden. Drain on paper towel and season with sea salt.

7. To serve

Using a sharp knife, and leaving the beef in the plastic wrap to keep its shape, cut the chilled beef into slices about 3 mm thick. Remove the plastic and leave to sit for 10 minutes until the beef comes to room temperature.

8. Spread a generous circle of the dressing on a large plate. Arrange the beef on top. Serve sprinkled with the toasted rice, fried shallots and mustard cress.

This recipe appears courtesy of Cooked.com.au. 

This recipe from Huxtabook: Recipes from Sea, Land and Earth by Daniel Wilson.