Special Feature: Intangible Cultural Heritage — Fusion with the World of Washoku Part 3 Roast sirloin steak lacquered with sansho sauce Poached egg with a purée of spring onions
2021/7/6
This time we would like to introduce a dish with which we deconstruct and reinterpret an old favorite of Japanese home cooking—sukiyaki.
Sukiyaki is a popular hot pot dish, for which we use a shallow iron pot to grill and simmer meat and other ingredients. It is also a dish brimming with potential for culinary innovation as each family and region uses different ingredients and has their own unique way of preparing it. Some cooks may, for example, add sake (rice wine), sugar, soy sauce, and other seasonings to the ingredients while grilling them. Others, however, may combine those seasonings in advance to make a sukiyaki sauce called warishita, in which they then simmer the meat and other ingredients.
For this dish, we chose to use red wine, port, honey, and spices to express the flavors and aromas of the traditional sukiyaki seasonings. First, we put the red wine, port, and honey in a pot together with a fine julienne of ginger, then slowly simmer and reduce the mixture down until it thickens. Next, we sieve the mixture and add powdered sansho (Japanese pepper) to create a sweet, spicy sauce. We then finish by coating the freshly grilled sirloin steak with the sauce and adjusting the flavor to taste.
We accompany the beef with grilled tofu (after draining and pressing it to remove moisture) and grilled leeks. This is served together with a side dish of poached egg and a purée of spring onions. The poached egg evokes the small bowl of raw egg that diners customarily dip the hot meat and other ingredients into when eating sukiyaki.
By focusing on flavors and aromas in this way, even though different ingredients and culinary techniques are used, we hope that everyone who tastes this dish will feel a little more familiar with the world of washoku.
Sukiyaki is a popular hot pot dish, for which we use a shallow iron pot to grill and simmer meat and other ingredients. It is also a dish brimming with potential for culinary innovation as each family and region uses different ingredients and has their own unique way of preparing it. Some cooks may, for example, add sake (rice wine), sugar, soy sauce, and other seasonings to the ingredients while grilling them. Others, however, may combine those seasonings in advance to make a sukiyaki sauce called warishita, in which they then simmer the meat and other ingredients.
For this dish, we chose to use red wine, port, honey, and spices to express the flavors and aromas of the traditional sukiyaki seasonings. First, we put the red wine, port, and honey in a pot together with a fine julienne of ginger, then slowly simmer and reduce the mixture down until it thickens. Next, we sieve the mixture and add powdered sansho (Japanese pepper) to create a sweet, spicy sauce. We then finish by coating the freshly grilled sirloin steak with the sauce and adjusting the flavor to taste.
We accompany the beef with grilled tofu (after draining and pressing it to remove moisture) and grilled leeks. This is served together with a side dish of poached egg and a purée of spring onions. The poached egg evokes the small bowl of raw egg that diners customarily dip the hot meat and other ingredients into when eating sukiyaki.
By focusing on flavors and aromas in this way, even though different ingredients and culinary techniques are used, we hope that everyone who tastes this dish will feel a little more familiar with the world of washoku.
MIYAHARA Yutaka