Enoki Beef Rolls

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Dinner (2274) Beef (175) Entree (137) Japanese (116)

Here's a recipe sure to impress your friends. Enoki beef rolls are a favourite of ours to both prepare and share. The flavours are intense and work well as both a main course or appetiser. Sesame and soy fans, this one is for you.

Preparation Time: 45 minutes minimum
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Makes: Approx 15-20 servings

Ingredients
400g frozen beef strips
200g enoki mushrooms
1/4 cup cooking rice wine
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin (sweet sake)
1/8 cup light soy sauce
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp crushed garlic
Pinch sea salt
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp corn or coconut oil

Method

Remove beef slices from freezer and allow to thaw. (We used thinly sliced beef available from our local Asian grocer. This is the thinnest beef we have ever found and is perfect for these enoki rolls)

Prepare marinade by combining sake, mirin, cooking wine, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and 1 tbsp of sesame oil into a shallow dish.

Add thawed beef slices into the marinade. Place in fridge for half an hour minimum, overnight preferred.

Beef layed out in a shallow dish to marinate.

Chop off the roots on the enoki, then fill a medium bowl with lukewarm water. Be careful not to make this too hot or it will cook and wilt the enoki.

Separate the enoki and place into the bowl of water, then sprinkle over with a generous pinch of salt and let sit for 10 -15 minutes. The salt adds flavour to the otherwise bland mushrooms.

Take out a chopping board and carefully pick up a piece of beef. These strips are very thin, even more fragile after marinating and tend to break apart easily.

Lay the strips on a diagonal, as this will give you more room on the board to roll up the enoki.

Next, remove a small portion of enoki, split it in half again and flip half around so the tips will stick out of both ends of the roll. Begin rolling the beef onto the enoki from left to right, holding the enoki with your fingers and rolling the beef and enoki with your thumbs. This can be a little tricky, but after a few rolls you should get the hang of it.

Once all rolled up, they are ready for the frying pan. Depending on the size, we usually cook about 5 at a time to avoid overcrowding. Add the coconut or corn oil and remaining sesame oil to the pan and heat on a medium to high flame.

Add rolls and rotate 1/4 turns every few minutes, depending on how well you like your meat cooked. We recommend a slightly longer cooking time to allow the sweetness to really comes through. The sauce will thicken and the outside of the beef will begin to get a nice dark coating.