Teriyaki Beef

This dish is super tasty yet incredibly simple and quick to make. For me it's especially great on a weekday when I usually get home from work at dinner time. In the morning before I leave for work, I would marinate the beef cubes in about half the marinade without the honey and leave it in the fridge. I find the beef tends to burn and caramelize a bit too easily while cooking if I marinate it with the honey from the start.

So I use equal amounts of soy, mirin and sake for the marinade (about 1 tablespoon each). For the teriyaki sauce, I use the other tablespoon of soy, mirin and sake mixed together with a tablespoon of honey. Also having a piece of good quality beef fillet with a decent amount of fat running through it makes all the difference. :)

Teriyaki Beef

• 250g beef fillet (diced into 2cm cubes)
• Cooking oil

For marinade & teriyaki sauce

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon honey (try to choose one that has a milder flavour) <-- add later for teriyaki sauce

Method:

1. Marinate the diced beef in light soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. Leave in the fridge overnight or through the day. Let the beef come back to room temperature before cooking.
2. Heat a large frying pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of cooking oil. When hot, add the beef and stir fry quickly to prevent the meat from burning and to cook the pieces evenly. When the beef is about 70 per cent cooked, dish out and set aside.
3. To make the teriyaki sauce, just add the honey to the reserved marinade of soy, mirin and sake back into the wok. Boil over medium-low heat until the sauce is glossy and thickens slightly. It should take on a caramelized taste but be careful not to let it burn.
4. Add the beef back to the wok and stir well to coat with the thickened sauce. Let the sauce caramelize a bit more with the beef then remove from the wok onto a serving plate.