Dear Beloved Readers;
Browsing through myriads of short stories and articles that I have composed - some published, and some not - I stumbled across an ancient tome of wisdom entitled "The Secret to Sarku Success". Returning to this site for the first time in several years, an opportunity presents itself to reply to the ideas, questions, and suggestions that have come along the way.
First and foremost would be the ever-elusive, yet succulent "Beef Sukiyaki". At least that's the title they gave it when I was amongst the Sakkio ranks. I've noticed that some of the locations are actually referring to it as "Beef Teriyaki", which may finally remove a small thorn that has poked my side for neigh on ten years, as anyone who has a fundamental understanding of Japanese cuisine knows that nothing at Sakkio / Sarku qualifies as Sukiyaki. [They also claimed to have "Soba Noodles" and "Maki Rolls", which were really Wei-Chuan brand Chinese noodles and vegetable spring rolls, respectively, but the all-powerful powers-that-be at the Sakkio head office had the foresight to realize that the average Westerner wouldn't know the difference and wanted to see lots of Japanese-ISH words on the menu... Clever.]
As anyone who frequents Sarku and/or tries to re-create it at home could imagine, the Beef Sukiyaki is grilled and sauced in the same fashion as the Chicken Teriyaki. The difference, therefore, must lie in the preparation itself. And it does.
Start with flank steak or skirt steak, partially frozen but thawed enough to cut would be best. Trim the beef lean, leaving little to no fat behind. Next, slice the beef thin, somewhere in the realm of 1/8 inch - against the grain of the meat - at a slight angle if you are skilled enough [this gives a better surface-area ratio to said meat product, thus creating a more tender final product]. Place your sliced steak in a large metal mixing bowl and season to your own taste [this will take some tweaking on your part] with the following ingredients:
-a fairly large glug of vegetable oil
-a fairly small glug of high-quality pure sesame oil
-black pepper
-salt
-pinch of sugar
-paprika
-granulated garlic
-a splash of burgundy or port
-a conservative sprinkling of cornstarch to bind it all together
With a pair of gloves on, get down and dirty. Mix and mash the **** out of your beef. And when you think you're done, mix and mash it some more. After all, you are tenderizing it in the process. I take it in handfulls and slam it into the bowl, and crush it in my hands. Don't be afraid to manhandle it. You WILL be rewarded.
When you are done, the beef should be a bit glossy, and stick together nicely with the off-white combination of marinade ingredients and oils. You should be able to form it into a nice ball that will stay together. If it falls apart, you haven't mixed enough and reinstate full-on beef abuse. If there is residual liquid, they you may have overdone the "wet" ingredients in the marinade mix. Go easy on the booze.
Form your steak concoction into balls just slightly smaller than a baseball. I would assume in the range of 4 to 6 ounces, because I would like to believe you will get 3 or 4 servings out of a pound of beef. Cover and refridgerate said "steak-balls" for a few hours, or more ideally if you have the time, overnight.
When you are ready, crank your flat-top grill as high as it will go (or, if you are as crazy as I am, slap a giant piece of cast-iron over the searing hot coals of an open fire - the way it would have been done before the Meiji Restoration). With tongs and a tea towel, spread a fine layer of oil on your cooktop and give it a minute or so to heat back up.
Slap your beef ball on the grill and use a spatula to flatten and spread it out. Once you have it spread into a nice thin layer, LEAVE IT ALONE! Don't touch it, press it, or manipulate it in any other way for the next 2 to 3 minutes, or until you can sneak up a corner of the steak and see that it has a glorious charred undercarriage. Turn only once, and grill for an addition 2 or 3 minutes, until side B matches side A [...you get the picture]. If you want sliced mushrooms (which I do), now is the time to throw them on top. Slather on a scoop of your awe-inspiring Teriyaki Sauce (you DID remember to make it, right? Refer to my original article "The Secret To Sarku Success", if necessary). Mix up with your spatulas for just a minute, long enough to soften the mushrooms and get the sauce good and hot.
Plate up over top of a generous helping of rice and sauted veggie, and go to town. Perfect. Wonderful. A Teriyaki-fueled paradise for the taste buds.
~Enjoy~
A few side notes before I bid you adeau.
I would like to thank everyone for their kind words in regards to the first segment of this series, it certainly inspired the second. My apologies that it took so long to follow up, and rest-assured that if this second segment shows interest or sparks questions, I will continue more quickly (perhaps with the recipe for the vegetable spring rolls or tempura
).
Reading some of the feedback:
Sakkio's recipe for the soup base that makes up the majority of the teriyaki sauce never contained miso, but the addition of miso could certainly add depth, and if nothing else, (gasp) a bit more authentic Japanese flair.
I really don't know the exact recipe for Sakkio's Hot Sauce. I do know that it contained "Tuong Ot Toi Viet Nam" Vietnamese Chili Sauce, watered down with something, and sweetened a bit, but I am unsure of exact ingredients. This particular recipe was deligated to the 50-something year old Chinese wife of the owner, and I only caught glimpses of the production. I also was in love with this hot sauce, both for spring rolls and as a topping for stir-fry to give it a "kick", so I can feel the pain of those who cannot replicate it. Perhaps I'll give it a go...
It's been nearly six years since I have even worked for Sakkio Japan, and it amazes me the impact this estabishment has had on me. Not only did I start my career as a chef there, learning the fundamentals of the restaurant / hospitality industry, but here I am years later still contemplating the procedures and enlightening a hungy world to the wonders that are... SAKKIO.
Take this knowledge and remember:
"To consume is to survive, to eat is to truly LIVE"
Regards,
K. Hitchens
