It's all in the dressing

Go the Japanese way and try out these accompanying sauces to amp up the flavour of your dishes

Wagyu Beef Tataki
Serves: 4

Ingredients
120 gm Wagyu beef, preferably striploin with no fat or sinew
10 gm Maldon sea salt
90 gm pickled shiitake mushrooms
40 gm spring onion, finely sliced, washed, dried
60 gm leeks, white part only, julienne, fried
60 gm enoki mushrooms, coated in potato starch, fried
100 gm tataki dressing

For the pickled shiitake mushrooms:
700 ml water
90 ml shiro dashi
30 ml mirin
50 ml light soy sauce
500 gm dried shiitake mushrooms

For the tataki dressing:
175 gm rice vinegar
135 ml light soy sauce
25 ml sake
50 ml mirin
7 gm shiso leaf, chopped
12 gm caster sugar
4 gm black pepper, freshly ground
24 gm ginger, freshly grated
7 gm garlic, freshly grated
35 ml sesame oil
325 ml grapeseed oil
Method
For the mushrooms: combine all the liquids in a bowl and whisk well. Add in the dried mushrooms and heat slowly on the stove until mushrooms are fully hydrated. Remove from heat and let the mushrooms sit in the liquid until required. Then, remove from the pickling liquid and slice thinly at an angle.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients, except sesame oil and grapeseed oil, in a bowl. Whisk thoroughly until fully combined. While whisking, slowly add the oil to form an emulsion. Transfer to a clean container or squeeze bottle and store in the chiller till required.
For the beef tataki, season the wagyu beef on all sides with salt and let sit for 30 minutes. Pan-sear in a pan on all sides over high heat. Transfer to an ice water bath to cool completely. Remove from the bath and transfer to a tray lined with a cloth to dry. Once completely chilled, thinly slice the beef at an angle.
On a chilled serving plate, arrange the wagyu beef tataki slices with pickled shiitake mushrooms alternately (overlapping each other). Drizzle the beef and mushroom slices with the tataki dressing. Garnish with spring onion rings (in a line), leeks and fried enoki mushrooms. Serve.


Chilean Sea Bass with Spicy Miso
Serves: 4

Ingredients
600 gm Chilean sea bass
60 gm lemon wedge
390 gm spicy miso, for marination and sauce

For the spicy miso:
75 gm chilli paste
750 gm den miso (recipe below)
35 gm chilli flakes
200 gm red chilli, stems removed

For the den miso:
500 gm white miso
140 ml sake
140 ml mirin
325 gm caster sugar

Method
Combine all the ingredients for the spicy miso in a blender and blitz until smooth. Divide the mixture into two - 300 gm for the marinade and the rest for the sauce. Marinate the sea bass for a minimum of 24 hours. Combine all the ingredients for the den miso in a bowl and cook gently over a bain marie until caramelised. Whisk regularly to keep the sugar from burning. Cool completely and transfer to a clean container; store in the chiller till use.
To serve, remove the Chilean sea bass from the marinade and bake in an oven at 190°C for 10-15 mins. Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve with spicy miso sauce.


Tomato Salad with Shiso Dressing
Serves: 4

Ingredients
180 gm red cherry tomato, halved
180 gm yellow cherry tomato, halved
180 gm assorted heirloom tomato, cut into portions
105 gm banana shallots, thinly sliced
180 gm cucumber, deseeded, cut in triangles
3 gm shiso leaf, chiffonade
120 gm shiso dressing
15 ml sesame oil
3 gm white sesame seeds, toasted
3 gm black sesame seeds, toasted
6 gm Maldon sea salt
3 gm freshly ground black pepper

For the shiso dressing:
175 ml rice vinegar
50 ml soy sauce
25 ml sake
50 ml mirin
7 gm dried shiso leaf
12 gm caster sugar
5 gm freshly ground black pepper
250 ml grapeseed oil

Method
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients, except grapeseed oil, in a bowl. Whisk thoroughly until fully combined. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil to form an emulsion. Transfer to a clean container or squeeze bottle and store in the chiller.
To assemble, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season with the dressing and sesame oil. Transfer salad to a chilled serving plate and garnish with sesame seeds, sea salt and pepper.