Seared Angus Pure Beef Tataki with Nashi Pear, Ponzu Vinegar Jelly and Japanese Herbs

Charlie Smith/Lauren Freeman

Chef Makoto Tokuyama, co-owner of Cocoro restaurant, has a talent for artfully blending the best of Japanese gastronomy with the finest locally sourced and unmistakably New Zealand ingredients. The results are sublime. As regulars of chef Tokuyama’s elegant, multi-award-winning dining room, Simply You Living has asked him to create, exclusively for us, a feast we could prepare for family and friends.

TIP: If you can’t find the herbs and leaves listed here, substitute them for any others of your choice.

Ingredients

1 stick	Celery, 15cm
100 ml	Ponzu, vinegar (ready made or use recipe below)
200 g	Scotch fillets, Angus Pure, cleaned (Main)
1	Nashi pear
1	Radish, red
1 pinch	Freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch	Flaky Marlborough sea salt
1 Tbsp	Chives, finely chopped
2 g	Garlic, fried sliced
1 splash	Olive oil
2 pieces	Ginger, (myoga)
5 g	Onions, fried sliced
1 g	Garlic
2 handfuls	Microgreens, mizuna and sango radish
3 g	Ginger
5 g	Wasabi paste
12	Shiso leaves, micro
1 handful	Edible flower, to garnish

Ponzu vinegar jelly

80 ml	Soy sauce, marudaizu (Yamasa brand)
20 ml	Sake, Junmai (Ozeki brand)
20 ml	Hon-mirin, (Hinode brand)
3 g	Kelp, Japanese kombu, dried
60 ml	Rice vinegar, (Uchibori brand)
2 g	Dried bonito flakes
1	Yuzu, fresh (substitute for lemon or navel orange)
1 g	Yuzu kosho pepper paste
1 g	Agar agar powder
3 g	Gelatine, powder
20 ml	Water

Directions

1. Pickle the celery with ponzu vinegar 1-2 days then slice thinly, reserving vinegar.
2. Immediately before cooking, sprinkle salt, black pepper and olive oil on and around the beef. Rub into the meat so it absorbs the seasonings.
3. Chargrill (broil or panfry on high heat) the beef. When browned and a little burnt at the edges, immediately cool in the freezer or plunge into ice water. When completely cool, pat with kitchen paper and slice thinly.
4. Slice nashi pear into 2-3mm-thick pieces. Finely slice radish then rinse in cold water. Finely chop chives. Finely grate the garlic and ginger.
5. To serve, place the sliced beef on 4 plates. Pour over a little reserved ponzu vinegar. Spread a pinch of garlic paste, ginger paste and wasabi paste on each serving of beef. Sprinkle chopped chives over. Arrange prepared herbs and vegetables, as well as micro mizuna and sango leaf, on top. Place 1/3 tsp of ponzu vinegar jelly on each serving of beef. Sprinkle with fried onion and fried garlic. Garnish with edible flowers and shiso leaf.

Ponzu Vinegar Jelly

1. To make the vinegar, place the sake and hon mirin into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the soy sauce and kombu kelp then lower the heat and simmer a bit. Add the bonito flake and remove from heat immediately. Add the rice vinegar and set aside to cool. Squeeze yuzu and strain juice through a fine sieve. Add the pepper paste and mix lightly until dissolved.
2. If you are short on time, you can skip the steps above and purchase pre-made ponzu vinegar from your nearest Japanese grocery store.
3. Soak agar powder in 5ml water. Soak gelatin powder in 15ml water.
4. Heat half the ponzu vinegar until boiling. Turn down the heat and add the soaked agar powder. Mix well until dissolved. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture immediately. Mix well until dissolved. Add the remaining vinegar. Cool in an iced water bath. Refrigerate until set.