Negimaki is a Japanese dish made of thin strips of teriyaki-marinated beef stuffed with blanched shallots. The meat is rolled up and secured with string or toothpicks, marinated for up to 30 minutes, then grilled or fried. The marinade is boiled and thickened to create a sauce. Chicken can be used instead of beef, and garlic and sesame oil can be added to the sauce.
A Japanese dish, negimaki consists of grilled or fried teriyaki marinated strips of beef stuffed with shallots. The strips are first cut, then pounded for ultra-thinness. Next, they are rolled up with shallots. Often found in Japanese restaurants, negimaki can easily be made at home.
Although teriyaki sauce can be purchased in stores, it is often made from scratch in negimaki. Sake and mirin, rice wine and sweet rice wine respectively, are the usual ingredients of Japanese teriyaki sauce. In addition, soy sauce and sugar are usually added. To make the marinade, the liquids and sugar are simply mixed together until the sugar dissolves.
Flank steak is usually the meat of choice for negimaki. The steak is cut into strips 1.5–2 inches (3.8–5 cm) wide. Then, the strips are placed between sheets of paper or parchment paper in which they are hammered until they are approximately 0.15cm thick. Next, several strips of meat are layered next to each other to make small squares. The squares are then seasoned with salt.
Also called simply green onions, shallots are the only filling for these meat rolls. Before they are rolled in the meat, the shallots are first blanched. Blanching involves placing vegetables briefly in boiling water and then immediately in an ice bath. Once the shallots have been blanched, several are placed on each square of cured meat. Then, the squares are rolled up and secured with string or toothpicks and placed in the marinade.
Negimaki doesn’t need to marinate for a long time. Typically, the rolls marinate for no longer than 30 minutes and can be in the liquid for as short as 15 minutes. Then, the rolls are placed on a grate brushed with oil or in an oil-coated pan or skillet. The meat cooks quickly and is often served medium rare. Once complete, the attachments are removed from the meat wraps and the wraps are cut into sushi-sized pieces.
As the meat cooks, the marinade is boiled and thickened to create a sauce. When the meat and marinade are complete, they can be served. Some versions pour the sauce over the meat and others place the meat on top of the marinade.
Rarely, negimaki versions will use white meat chicken instead of beef. These versions can make a brushing sauce for grilling rather than a marinade. While the sauce has many of the same ingredients, garlic and sesame oil are often added.
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