BEEF TARTARE WITH SEA URCHIN FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD
IT HAD ME AT HELLO
Oh geez, in between life in general and an unexpectedly eventful visit to my OBGYN which involved an adorably named chocolate cyst, I’m going to quickly leave you with, nonetheless, a recipe for my favorite thing to eat these days. This is a dish inspired by a restaurant called Neighborhood in Hong Kong’s central district, which serves predominantly French bistro-style dishes with a spritz of Japanese infusion, and in this case, classic beef tartare served with fresh sea urchin roe on top. For the record, I have NOT had this particular dish at the restaurant. It wasn’t offered on the menu by the time I visited, and so I created my own rendition at home. The major difference is that their standard beef tartare is mixed with chopped raw oysters, which I omitted because fresh oysters just isn’t something that Hong Kong markets excel at, and for the many times that I’ve pushed my luck, I wish I hand’t, so.
But, having said that, you’ve got to try this. I would want to sell you on how the creamy sweetness and foie gras-like richness of the sea urchin blend almost biblically beautiful with the irony savoriness of the beef tartare, and how the infusion of the two, including the cold and silky touches it feels on your taste buds, comes to a marvelous clash with the warm crunches of the toasted baguette. And I could go on.
But the truth is, if you’re my kinda people, it had us at hello.
Ingredients
- 7 oz (200 grams) fresh beef tenderloin or top round
- 1 medium shallot, peeled and grated
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp finely minced pitted black olives, or caper (see note)
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- heaping 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to adjust
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small pinch of sugar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp ~ 1/4 cup of super fresh sea urchin roe/uni
- toasted sliced baguette to serve
Instructions
- Cut the beef into thin 1/8" slices, then into thin 1/8" strips, then into small 1/8" cubes. They don't have to be perfectly sized. And if you feel that the cubes are too large, you can roughly chop them further. You can prepare the beef ahead of time, transfer into a large bowl, plastic-wrap and keep chilled until it's time to serve.
- Right before serving, add grated shallot, egg yolk, minced black olives (or capers), Dijon mustard, sea salt, ground black pepper and sugar to the cubed beef. With a large fork, mix to combine, then add the extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp at a time, and mix until the mixture has just formed an emulsion and is creamy. DO NOT over-mix the beef that it breaks up and turn into ground beef-like! Re-season with more sea salt if needed. Transfer the beef tartare to a serving plate, then top with about 3 tbsp~1/4 cup amount of fresh sea urchins. Sprinkle with more sea salt on top, maybe a little minced chives or scallions. Serve with toasted sliced baguette.
Notes
You can choose to either use pitted black olives or capers to dress the beef tartare. For those are more sensitive towards raw meets or sea urchins (or if you have doubts about how pristinely fresh the sea urchins are), black olives offer a more robust cover to the party, leaving only the sweetness of the sea urchins to be detected on the taste buds. But for those who love the irony taste of raw meets and roe-like flavor of sea urchins, capers will allow them to shine through while adding a subtle acidity. In my case, I used black olives in the photos only because I ran out of capers.
Nova
10.30.2017at10:45 PMThis looks amazing, thank you for a concise recipe we can create at home! Have had 10 second seared wagyu beef with uni and shiso leaf at a restaurant in NYC and loved it. Only problem is finding great uni in Scottsdale, AZ! That uni looks incredible, your photography is so moody and beautiful and your creativity is beyond belief! Kudos to you!
AnnieN
10.31.2017at7:29 AMYou had me at beef tartare :)
Nasreen
11.02.2017at10:11 AMIs there a way of getting over the fear factor of making raw meat dishes? I love the idea of tartar and ceviche but preparing raw dishes on my own scare me. This looks amazing by the way.
mandy@ladyandpups
11.02.2017at11:44 AMNasreen, are you afraid of eating raw meat or just preparing it? I think the first step is to buy the meat from a reputable source where you know it’s handled safely and fresh. And make the dish on the that you purchased your meat to ensure it’s as fresh as possible, and if there are some waiting time in between, always keep the meat refrigerated :)
Nasreen
11.03.2017at12:59 AMNo fear of eating it. Just preparing it. I’m not a novice in the kitchen but I’ve always steered away from raw preparations.
Thanks for the advice!
Ann
11.03.2017at4:17 PMYikes! I first had to google a chocolate cyst I hope you’re feeling better (I had an ectopic pregnancy years ago and it has similar symptons), foodwise it sounds intriguing the combination of raw meat and raw oysters.
Diego Lopes
11.15.2017at1:34 AMI’ve never tried a recipe like this before, but this looks so delicious that I’ll have to try. It’s going to be a fun adventure!
Vertical garden planters
11.24.2017at2:28 PMYou can choose to either use pitted black olives or capers to dress the beef tartare.
sabrina
12.08.2017at9:21 AMwow, gorgeous ingredients and yes, I’d skip oysters in Hong Kong too! great idea using Sea Urchin, thank you for this recipe!
Elena
01.14.2018at8:19 AMI tried making this for my guy and I think my ratio of beef to uni was off…granted, it can be hard to find ample amounts of fresh and delicious uni in Manhattan… and we are both huge uni lovers. Everything else about the recipe was divine! I was one of the people that was a bit nervous dealing with raw meat for the first time, but a great butcher shop alleviated my worries! I will definitely be trying this recipe again – thank you for the inspiration and all your recipes, I love coming to this site!
mandy@ladyandpups
01.14.2018at12:16 PMElena, feel free to adjust the uni to your own likings :)