The New York Times recipe: Beef Negimaki

Sharp bites of spring onion complement earthy grilled steak that’s been marinated in a deeply savoury combination of soy, mirin, sake and sugar in this traditional Japanese dish. Normally an appetiser, it needs only steamed rice or the bite and char of roasted broccoli to become a full meal. For an even faster path to this recipe, take a cue from reader suggestions and use thinly sliced beef meant for hot pot, often sold at Korean markets.

Ingredients:

Salt

12 spring onions, trimmed and halved crosswise

Ice

⅓ cup soy sauce

⅓ cup mirin

⅓ cup sake

⅓ cup turbinado sugar, or ¼ cup white sugar

450g flank steak (about a 15cm square in size)

Vegetable oil, for greasing grates

Preparation:

Step 1 In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch lighter spring onion ends for 1 minute, then add darker green ends and blanch for 1 minute longer. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool, then drain and transfer spring onions to a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess water.

Step 2 In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, stirring to dissolve most of the sugar.

Step 3 Working on a cutting board, cut flank steak against the grain into 4 equal strips, then cut each strip in half, for 8 equal square pieces of meat. Keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board, butterfly each square by horizontally slicing against the grain through the middle. (Leave it attached on one side; do not cut all the way through.) Carefully open it like a book. Each of the 8 pieces should be about 7.5cm wide.

Step 4 Using a meat mallet and working with one piece of meat at a time, cover each with plastic wrap and pound until 1.5mm thick, creating rectangles that are about 12.5cm by 15cm. Transfer meat to the soy sauce marinade, turn to coat, and let stand for 5 minutes.

Step 5 Heat grill to medium-high and grease the grates. (Alternatively, grease a grill pan or griddle to use on the stovetop.) Remove steak from marinade and transfer to a work surface. Transfer marinade to a small saucepan over medium-low and simmer until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 6 Meanwhile, divide spring onions among the 8 pieces of steak, arranging on one side along the shorter edge (spring onions should be parallel to the grain). Tightly roll meat around the spring onions and secure in two places with toothpicks where meat overlaps, threading the toothpicks parallel to the roll but not through the scallions in the centre.

Step 7 Grill the negimaki, turning occasionally, until nicely charred and cooked through, reducing heat to medium halfway through, about 12 minutes. (If using a grill pan, heat on stovetop over medium-high and reduce heat to medium halfway through.)

Step 8 Once negimaki are cooked, lightly brush them with some of the reduced glaze, then transfer to a cutting board. Remove toothpicks, cut negimaki into bite-size pieces and arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle with the remaining glaze and serve warm.

Serves 4

Total time: 45 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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