Beef Kushiyaki (Japanese Skewers)

Name: Beef Kushiyaki (Japanese Skewers)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 750g beef fillet, silverskin trimmed, 3cm dice; 110g (½ cup) caster sugar; 160ml (⅔ cup) soy sauce; 40ml (2 tbsp) sake; thumb sized piece fresh ginger, grated; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; zest and juice of 1 lemon; 20ml (1 tbsp) oyster sauce; 4 green onions, sliced 3cm lengths; steamed short grain rice, pickled baby cucumbers, finely shredded wombok, to serve; toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

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Beef Kushiyaki (Japanese Skewers)

Ingredient Notes

Beef fillet:

Fillet (tenderloin) is the best cut because it’s very low in connective tissue and cooks quickly at high heat without toughening. Ask your butcher to remove the silverskin if you prefer to start from a completely prepped piece. Other quick-grilling cuts work as more economical substitutes: flank, striploin and rump. Whichever cut you use, trim away any visible silverskin and hard sinew before cutting into cubes.

Sake:

Sake is a Japanese rice wine used in cooking to add mild sweetness and a clean umami note to marinades and sauces. It also has a slight tenderising effect on beef through its alcohol content. Dry sherry is the closest substitute in terms of flavour. Mirin can also be used but it’s considerably sweeter than sake, so if you substitute with mirin, reduce the caster sugar in the marinade by about half to keep the balance.

Caster sugar:

The marinade uses a high ratio of sugar to soy sauce (110g to 160ml) to balance the saltiness and to help the glaze caramelise on the grill. Caster sugar is preferred over white sugar because the finer grain dissolves more readily in a cold marinade, so the sugars are evenly distributed before the beef goes in. Brown sugar works as a substitute and adds a slightly deeper, more molasses-forward flavour to the glaze.

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Ingredients

750g beef fillet, silverskin trimmed, 3cm dice
110g (½ cup) caster sugar
160ml (⅔ cup) soy sauce
40ml (2 tbsp) sake
thumb sized piece fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
zest and juice of 1 lemon
20ml (1 tbsp) oyster sauce
4 green onions, sliced 3cm lengths
steamed short grain rice, pickled baby cucumbers, finely shredded wombok, to serve
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Large bowl (marinating)
Medium saucepan (reducing glaze)
Sieve
Bamboo or metal skewers
Charcoal BBQ, Hibachi or gas BBQ grill
Tongs

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Directions

PREP THE BEEF

Place the beef in a large bowl. Mix the sugar, soy, sake, ginger, garlic, lemon zest and juice and oyster sauce in a bowl and stir until well combined.
Stir the marinade through the beef to evenly coat, then set aside for at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

PREP THE SKEWERS

Thread 3 pieces of meat onto pairs of skewers, spaced 2cm apart, finishing with 2 pieces of green onion on the end. Repeat with the remaining meat and onions.
Pour the remaining marinade through a sieve into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by one third and thickens slightly to make a glaze. Set aside.

COOK THE SKEWERS

Preheat a charcoal BBQ or Hibachi to high heat. Suspend the skewers directly over the coals.
Cook skewers, turning every 2-3 minutes, brushing with the glaze when they are halfway through cooking time. This will take between 6-8 minutes, for medium-rare.
Place a pile of steamed rice onto serving plates, then top with the skewers, pickled cucumbers, some wombok on the side and garnished with sesame seeds.

Notes

Origins

Beef Kushiyaki is a Japanese street food that is believed to have evolved from the Yakitori grilling technique for chicken, then being applied to beef, once beef became more available in the 19th Century. These days it can be found sold by street vendors to high-end restaurants with varying cuts of beef and seasonings.

Cook support

Allow the time for your coals to heat up sufficiently and for even distribution of heat between the coals to ensure even cooking.

Substitutions

You can use any thick cut steak that can be cubed for this recipe, ideally a cut for quick grilling (flank, striploin, rump).

Serving ideas

You can serve this with whatever sides you prefer, such as steamed Asian greens, rice noodles, Asian style slaw, grilled potatoes.

Cooking method

If you do not have a Hibachi or coal BBQ, you can cook this recipe on a gas BBQ grill, but it will lose that smokiness to the end result.