Seared Beef Salad With Watercress and Grapefruit
- Cuisine: Asian
- Course: Main Course, Salad
- Features: Fast, Healthy
Summary:
Are you up for a little kitchen performance art -- and some very rare meat? The Japanese cooking method involved here is called tataki, which means "slapped." Asian cooking teacher Kimiko Barber explains that tataki delivered with the palm of one's hand flattens and tenderizes thin slices of seared beef. Instead of shocking the meat with ice water to stop further cooking, a technique she says is traditional, Barber sprinkles it with rice vinegar before giving the protein a thunk.
4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 Large bunch watercress trimmed
- 2 cups mixed baby lettuces
- 8 to 12 ounces rump steak or sirloin steak, at least 1 inch thick, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Large (1 1/2 pounds) grapefruit
- 3 -inches piece ginger root, peeled
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Directions:
Rinse and dry the watercress and lettuces, and place in a wide, shallow serving bowl. Set aside.
Lightly coat the meat with the vegetable oil and season both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a griddle pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat; when it is hot, sear the meat on one side for 2 to 3 minutes or just until the meat releases from the pan. Turn over and sear the second side for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let the meat rest while you prep the salad components.
Holding the grapefruit over a medium bowl to collect any juices, use a sharp knife to peel and cut the fruit into segments that are free of pith and membrane. Place the segments on top of the salad greens as you work.
Grate the ginger and squeeze its juice into the bowl with the grapefruit juice, discarding ginger root solids. Add the soy sauce and sugar, stirring to combine. Set aside.
Use a sharp knife to cut the meat into 1/4 -inch slices, or as thinly as possible, keeping the slices slightly overlapping. Sprinkle them with the rice vinegar. Use the knife to flip over 1 slice at a time so that it lies flat on the cutting board. Working in succession, deliver a quick hit with the palm of your hand to each slice of meat to flatten it, then transfer to the salad greens. Drizzle the dressing on top and lightly toss the salad. Serve immediately.
Recipe Source:
Adapted recipe from Kimiko Barber's new book, "Japanese Light" (DK Publishing, 2007).
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