Japanese Raw Beef

I have been meaning to post this for a while but never got round to it. A friend works in a Japanese restaurant and I commented to him how I loved their raw beef and that it tasted so good. However, it was so expensive for a tiny bowl and I wished I could make it at home. Well he told me that the secret was all in the sauce, and its extremely easy to make.

Soy Sauce For Japanese Raw Beef
* 1 part soy sauce
* 1 part white vinegar
* a few cloves of peeled garlic

All you do is mix equal parts of regular soy sauce (I used Kikkoman brand) and white vinegar (I used the one with the little girl skipping rope on the bottle) and throw in a few cloves of peeled garlic. Let the mixture mix for at least 24 hours. Then you're ready to use your sauce.

Preparing The Beef
* Use a good cut of beef, such as Porterhouse. Put a pan on high heat with a bit of oil. Brown all sides of the beef quickly and take off and let it cool. Cut the beef into thin strips.

Serving The Beef
* Place a bed of finely sliced white onions on a plate. Layer the beef over it and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Just before you are about to eat it, break a raw egg onto the beef and mix thoroughly. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the whole thing. Grab a mixture of the onions and beef covered in egg and soy sauce and eat all at once. I find you really need to eat the whole mixture to get a variety of flavours swimming around in your mouth. I love the taste of the fresh beef and the smooth texture with the egg followed by the slightly tangy sauce.

Cleanliness is vital in preparing this dish as you are eating raw food, especially the egg. Make sure your utensils, knives, cutting board are all properly cleaned before you use them. Apart from that, enjoy the delicious flavours of the raw beef.