Valentine’s day just got a whole lot more romantic! Beautiful steak tataki served with a house made ponzu sauce and topped with sesame seeds, scallions, and microgreens. Quickly seared steak over high heat then thinly sliced and paired with a citrus soy sauce lightly poured overtop.

The perfect meal for a romantic dinner for two! Spread the love with a beautifully cooked cut of steak and pair it with your favourite red wine for all the lovey dovey feels! Sit back and enjoy yourself because there’s nothing to this! All that’s involved is making and easy sauce in a matter of seconds and cooking a steak. that’s it! So keep an eye out on that steak and make sure you nail that doneness.

THE BEEF

With a simple dish like this, buy the best beef you can. Because the beef is served rare, using a tender, more expensive cut that is evenly thick, will yield a better tasting dish that is tender and juicy and practically melts in your mouth compared to a leaner lower grade cut like flank steaks and skirt steak which tend to be tougher. These steaks are just not suited for this style of meal. So grab a centre cut piece, something like a sirloins, ribeyes or other bone -in steaks, and you could even do with a filet mignon if your looking for something leaner.

PRESENTATION

Thinly slice the beef, arrange it on a plate and pour the sauce overtop. Garnish with scallions, microgreens and edible flowers if you have some. The key focus of this dish is to highlight the beautiful thinly cut pieces of beef and the rare to medium rare temperature its been cooked to. When serving, be sure not to hide all that delicious meat- you really want to make it pop and shine like the star its meant to be.

HOW TO COOK THE STEAK

You’ll want to bring the steak to room temperature before anything. Have it out on the counter for about 40 minutes. This prevents the muscle fibres from tensing up which can happen when you place a cold cut of meat in a hot pan or grill leaving you with an uneven cooked steak. Generously season both sides with fresh cracked salt and pepper. Depending on the level of marbling or fat your piece of steak has- this will determine if olive oil is needed. If the cut has fat, it doesn’t need olive oil. If using a filet mignon, it will need a little bit of oil to introduce some fat to help it cook. Place the steak on a very hot grill or cast iron pan. Sear both sides depending on the thickness anywhere between 3-6 minutes per side. Use a thermometer to check. 125 degrees F will give you a rare steak. Remember the steak will continue to cook while it rests. Allow your steak to rest in the pan removed from the burner or on a cold spot on the grill for 6-10 minutes. What this does is it allow the juices to re-distribute throughout the entire steak.

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with. #thecommunalfeast Follow along our social media account on instagram for quick videos on how our recipes come together!

Print Recipe

steak tataki

A Japanese dish feature beautifully seared steak served rare. Thinly sliced and arrange slightly overlapping paired with a quick ponzu sauce and garnished with scallions, sesame seeds, and microgreens.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Additional Time10 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Mains

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 3 lb centre cut steak fat trimmed (ribeye, sirloin, filet)
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• microgreens for garnish
• scallions for garnish
• ponzu:
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 TBS light soy sauce
• 1 TBS sesame seeds

Instructions

• Allow beef to come to room temperature. About 40 minutes. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a cast iron skillet until hot. Add a TBS olive oil to the pan and add steak cooking over high heat. Sear both sides until rare about 3-6 minutes depending on thickness. Use a thermometer to check the temperature inserting in the centre. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes away from heat.
• To make the sauce: in a bowl combine all the ingredients and set aside until ready to serve.
• to serve: use a sharp knife to cut the beef. Thinly slice crosswise on a slight angle (not straight down) Arrange cut slices on a plate, sprinkle some salt, scallions and more sesame seeds. Pour ponzu overtop and finish with some greens. Serve immediately.