Japanese style Radish and Rare Beef Roll-ups

Makes 16 canapésPreparation: 15 mins + 1 hour chillingCook: 10 mins

Radishes were introduced into Japan by the Chinese as a gift of goodwill and now – whether grated, pickled or used as a garnish, in sushi or in soups – is a widely established ingredient in the country’s cuisine. In this colourful canapé the crunchy, refreshing taste of the radish compliments the sweet tenderness of the meat making it the perfect party treat.

japanese rare steak and radish roll recipePam Lloyd PR Radish Recipes (7th December 2010)Group-1@2x1-300x300.fw

Ingredients

450g fillet steak (1 long thin piece works best)
2 tsp oil
8 radishes
4 spring onions
2cm root ginger
2 tbsp sesame oil
40ml soy sauce
½ tbsp wasabi paste
Bunch watercress
Black sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Step by step

  1. Season the steak with salt and white pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot and sear the steak on all sides so it’s quite dark on the outside but still feels soft and rare on the inside. Wrap it in cling film and place it in the freezer for 1 hour.
  2. Chop each radish into 8 wedges and slice the spring onions length ways into thin slivers.
  3. Finely grate the ginger and combine with the sesame oil, soy and wasabi paste.
  4. Unwrap the steak and slice as thinly as possible, you should get 16 slices out of it. Place a few pieces of radish and spring onion along with a sprig or two of watercress at one end of a slice of beef and roll it up. Repeat this until all of the beef and vegetable are used up.
  5. Arrange the beef rolls on a plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, serve with the dipping sauce.

Notes:

Resting the beef in the freezer means that it becomes firm and is easier to slice thinly.

If you haven’t got wasabi paste substitute horseradish sauce instead.