Beef Tataki Recipes
Here’s a recipe for beef tataki, a popular modern Japanese dish of thinly sliced beef in a citrus sauce. Choose the fine-dining version with sirloin, crispy potatoes, and garlic oil for entertaining, or a quick meal of steak and crispy shallots for Monday night. Impressive either way!
Tataki is a famous Japanese dish in which a protein (usually fish or beef) is slightly grilled, then thinly sliced, and then served with a lightly sour citrus sauce. It’s a popular appetizer in modern Asian restaurants, the kind of dish that appeals to everyone from meat lovers to those who appreciate more sophisticated Asian fusion dishes (think crispy rice cakes with spicy tuna, those kinds of things!).
But it’s a dish you’ll pay a lot for, around $30 for a small portion (6-8 slices) at high-end restaurants. So the dish pictured in this article would cost around $80 at a restaurant (plus parking, wine, and everything else!), versus around $20 to $28 for the ingredients (the price of beef is a big variable).
My mom is quick to point out that beef tataki is not traditional, fish tataki is unique to Japan (here’s her tuna tataki recipe). So the beef tataki recipe is out of the scope of RecipeTin Japan (“authentic Japanese recipes”), which gives me the rare opportunity to publish a Japanese recipe. Albeit modern. I approve!
Choose: Restaurant version or Monday night version
Today, I’m sharing two versions of beef tataki.
Restaurant: A replica of the beef tataki I’ve had in lovely modern Asian restaurants in Australia and Japan. Thinly sliced beef tenderloin, cooked rare, with yuzu vinaigrette, a pile of crispy potato straws and a drizzle of garlic oil.
Monday Night Beef Tataki Version: Named so because it’s simple enough to make midweek and also a lighter way to serve steak than richer steak sauces like béarnaise and cream sauces like pepper sauce or mushroom sauce (not that anyone starts out making this). swearing to “eat healthy” this week? 😂)
Beef tataki ingredients
As shown below, I’ve included two recipe options here: the restaurant version and an easy Monday night option. So take your pick!
BEEF TENDERLOIN
Sirloin is a lean and tender cut of beef, ideal for serving in a delicate dish like tataki. Thanks to its shape, you get a larger surface area of beautifully cooked red meat, making this tataki incredibly luxurious to eat.
Choosing the best beef fillet for tataki
Shape – Choose a thinner, longer piece (250g / 8oz or 13 to 15cm / 5-6″ long) as it is easier to slice than a large thick block.
Short and stout – If yours is shorter than 11.5cm / 4.5 inches (meaning wider), cut it in half horizontally to create 2 thinner pieces. It takes a very skilled master knife maker to cut a piece of beef this thick into thin slices. (Partially freezing a piece this thick won’t work either; you’ll get a firm outer layer before the inside is partially frozen).
Cut into even thickness so the beef cooks evenly.
Weight – The recipe is written for a 250g/8oz piece, but you can use a larger piece if you wish, with plenty of sauce.
Quality – As this is a rare cut, I recommend buying a good quality cut from your local butcher. But it doesn’t have to be as high quality as I would recommend (highly recommended) if you are preparing raw beef dishes like beef tartare or carpaccio. If you are using a budget cut, I recommend cooking the beef to at least medium rare and be prepared to cut thicker slices (more done = meat breaks more easily when sliced thinly). Also, use larger pieces, as thicker slices = fewer slices!
Steak options for tataki
In theory, you can make tataki with any cut of steak, but my personal favorites are:
Fillet mignon steak
sirloin/tenderloin (known as New York Strip in the US. Not to be confused with what the US calls a filet mignon steak, which is the Australian equivalent of a T-bone). This is shown below (the bold cut). This is a good choice as it has a more intense flavour than fillet.
Both of these cuts are tender enough to be used in a dish like tataki and they are also relatively lean so you won’t have a lot of cold white fat.
Yuzu Sauce for Tataki
Tataki is traditionally served with a citrus sauce. I chose a homemade ponzu-style sauce that adds Yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit that tastes like a cross between a lemon and a lime (delicious!). Yuzu gives this dish a distinctive (restaurants love it!) and distinctly Japanese flavor.
However, beef tataki is the kind of dish that pairs well with a variety of Japanese/Asian-style sauces, so I’ve listed some alternative sauce options below.
Cooking sake and mirin – two essential sauces of Japanese cuisine today can be found in the Asian section of major grocery stores, as well as in Asian stores. They add depth to the flavor of this sauce. If you can’t drink or find alcohol, suggest using one of the alternative sauces listed below.
Rice vinegar – substitute apple cider vinegar
The Japanese soy sauce – or Chinese light soy sauce a preference or all-purpose soy sauce. Avoid dark soy sauce (too dark will ruin the sauce).
Yuzu – a citrus fruit native to Japan. Chefs go through phases where they become obsessed with this product, and menus everywhere are filled with Yuzu this and Yuzu that! You’ll find it in Asian and Japanese grocery stores, sold in small bottles like in the photo below. Replace it with equal parts lemon and lime juice (it’s not far off, actually).
Alternative sauces
If you can’t drink alcohol or don’t have enough ingredients to make yuzu sauce, here are some alternative sauces/dressings that would also be great with beef tataki. If you are using any of these, do not use garlic oil as these sauces already contain oil.
Asian Sesame Sauce
Ginger Garlic Sauce for Beef Soba Noodles
Sauce for Tuna Poke Bowls
Something crunchy!
Crunchy tops always work well with these types of dishes to add textural contrast. For the restaurant-style beef tataki option, I used crispy potato straws (a blatant copy of the tataki I’ve had at restaurants). These thin chips are the perfect topping because they’re delicately crispy and you can stack them high for added visual interest.
I posted them in a separate recipe because they’re worth it! See Crispy Straw Potatoes.
Easy substitute: open a package of fried shallots and sprinkle them on! They’re a perfect substitute: salty, crunchy little pieces. A pantry staple in my world: I use them so often that I even wrote a post about them!
Garlic-infused oil
To give this dish a nice garlicky flavor, I opted for garlic-infused oil. I prefer this over, say, mixing the garlic into the sauce (which can be a little too overpowering for delicate dishes like this). Fried garlic is a popular topping option in restaurants, but again, I also find that the flavor can be a little too overpowering for this dish. But you will get crispy garlic slices, so feel free to use them!
Here’s what you need to make garlic-infused oil:
Grapeseed oil is a clean, neutral-tasting oil that’s ideal for this purpose. Substitute it with canola oil or any other neutral-tasting oil.
How to make beef tataki
Don’t be intimidated by the step-by-step photos, it’s not difficult. I’m just being generous with the explanations because this is a special dish! And don’t forget, in its simplest form: cook the steak, slice it, and serve it with one of the simple Asian sauces listed above. Monday night tataki is great!
1. How to Cook Beef for Tataki
You’ll find that typical recipes call for a short sear of the beef tenderloin, leaving the centre completely raw. I prefer rare rather than raw beef for tataki and to minimise overcooking the beef strips I use the slow roast and reverse roast method (main recipe) although you can also do it sous vide (additional instructions provided).
Slow Roast Beef – Rub the beef with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Then roast* for about 20 minutes at a low temperature (130°C / 275°F^) or until the internal temperature is 41°C / 105°F. To be safe, check after 15 minutes. The internal temperature will rise to 49-51°C/120-124°F during cooking, which is rare.
Stir-fry – Once the beef is ready, sear it for just 10 seconds on all four sides in a hot pan. This seals the outside and gives it a nice colour.
* Use a rack placed on a tray to allow the heat to circulate evenly around the beef for more even cooking.
^ Typically, a convection oven is 20°C cooler than a standard oven. However, at low temperatures, this adjustment is not always the necessities.
Cool – Transfer the beef to a rack set on a tray. Let cool on the counter for 30 minutes, then refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 hours (up to 8 hours). Cold beef = easier to slice.
Slice – When ready to serve, slice the beef. Aim for 3mm / 1/16″ thick slices but 5mm / 1/8″ is fine. Don’t worry if you get any tears or the edges crumble. Once served, watered and garnished, you won’t know!
2. Garlic infused oil
Now here’s the process of preparing the garlic infused oil. There’s just the right amount of garlic with just a little oil, so you get a really nice but mild garlic flavour that complements without overpowering the dish. I find raw garlic in any form a bit difficult for a dish as delicate as tataki.
Simmer and infuse – Put the garlic and oil in a small pan over low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes until the garlic is light brown. Then turn off the heat and let the oil infuse for 15 minutes (the garlic will turn a little golden).
Strain the oil into a small bowl. Reserve the garlic for another use (salads, poke bowls, noodles, fried rice!).
3. Yuzu Vinaigrette
The vinaigrette contains mirin and sake, so it needs to be simmered briefly to remove the alcohol (otherwise it tastes a bit too “winey”).
Simmer the mirin and sake for 1 minute in a small pot.
Mix – Let it cool for a few minutes, then mix with the remaining vinaigrette ingredients.
4. Crispy Pommes Straws
See separate recipe for all steps of the Crispy Pommes Straws recipe. In short:
Cut the potatoes into strips: Use a mandolin to cut them into strips. (to make them even crispier)
Fry: Then fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until golden and crispy. It’s that simple!
Storage: They stay 100% crispy for 5 days. Make a big batch and snack on them like chips!
Dressing
OK, ready to assemble!
Beef Slices – Using a knife, carefully transfer the beef slices to a plate. Arrange them so that they overlap slightly in the desired pattern. Don’t worry if they look a little messy! Once filled, you won’t be able to see it anymore!
Pour about 3 to 4 tablespoons of sauce over the top, drizzling a little over each beef slice so that the excess collects around the edges. Don’t skimp on the sauce! Then pour in about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of garlic oil.
Pour a pile of crispy potato straws in the middle. Make a nice pile! Serve leftover potato straws on the side. They will disappear quickly!
Eat it! Eat it right away, don’t leave it lying around after marinating because the beef will ooze out and dilute the sauce.
How to make Monday night steak tataki
If you don’t have time to wait for the steak to cool, serve it hot. He is always so good!
Cook the steak – Cook the steak to your liking in a hot cast iron skillet. Restaurants often cook this dish rare (sometimes raw!) but you can cook it to your liking. (Note: The more well-done the steak is, the harder it is to slice thinly because the meat is more likely to break.) Check the steak cooking temperature in the recipe notes.
Slicing – Let the steak rest then let it cool for at least 1 hour, weather permitting. Cold steak = easier to slice thinly. That said, hot beef tataki is delicious!
Slicing – Arrange the steaks in a row, overlapping them slightly or simply placing them side by side.
Sauce and Toppings – Drizzle with your choice of sauce and oil (see Ingredients above for easy Monday night options). Sprinkle with crispy fried chives and green onions. Then serve!
How to Eat and Serve Beef Tataki
You’ll typically find beef tataki as an appetizer on restaurant menus or as part of a multi-course meal. And while it’s too expensive to be considered a main course when dining out, it’s still within reach when you’re eating at home! Pair it with a leafy Asian salad or coleslaw with fried rice or garlic rice, and you’ve got yourself a delicious modern Asian meal.
As for how to eat it? (And yes, I fully realize how weird it may seem to include instructions on how to eat beef tataki, but I feel it is my duty to make sure that with each piece of beef, you get some topping (especially if you are making beef tataki. Crispy potato straws!) and that you coat each piece of beef in the sauce before putting it in your mouth
The coating is key. Promise me you won’t forget! – Nagi x
PS Reminder: this recipe is part of my special Japanese Fusion Menu that is specifically designed to be practical, most of the preparation is done in advance!
