Teriyaki Beef Sushi And Green Tea Meringues

Wow, a whole seven days without a post, what am I coming to?  I have been a little busy over the Easter holidays and while I haven’t quit baking, I have had less time to spend on the computer.  Now that the holidays are over, I hope to resume some sort of normality.  To make up for my lack of posting, I did a makeover on my “About” page by adding a lot more information about myself, so have a read over that if you’re curious.

To get back in the swing of things, I have a sort of Japanese-theme for this post.  We’ll start off with teriyaki beef sushi.  If you read my new “About” page, you will learn that sushi is my ultimate favorite food.  I love sushi with raw salmon the best, but this recipe that I found in the March 2010 issue of Australia’s Recipes + is pretty good too.

I’m really sorry for the poor quality of the photo.  The sun had already set and lighting was dim in the house.  I keep saying it’s time to make my own lightbox, but haven’t gotten around to that yet.

Anyway, what we have here is a thinly sliced expensive rump steak that has been stir-fried in a teriyaki marinade sauce and sprinkled in sesame seeds, matchstick carrots and cucumbers, seasoned sushi rice, all wrapped up into a seaweed cone.  It tastes great, but I think it tastes better completely chilled straight from the refrigerator, rather than eating it straight away.

My notes on this recipe for the sushi; I didn’t use all the sushi seasoning called for in the recipe.  I did not use peanut and sesame oils, I just used regular vegetable oil.  I also used a teriyaki marinade sauce instead of plain teriyaki sauce.  And it took a few tries before I finally was able to roll the seaweed into something that actually resembled a cone!

For dessert, let’s talk meringues.  I’ll start at the beginning.  I was just simply browsing my local newsagency and admiring the food magazines.  delicious. is one of my favorites, but it’s a rather expensive magazine and the food is slightly more upscale than what I’m used to making.  I hadn’t planned on buying this magazine, but a recipe inside caught my eye.  It was a pistachio meringue with green tea cream.  You know how much I love green tea.  I bought the magazine simply because of this one recipe, it looked brilliant and, well, delicious.

My pistachio meringue with green tea cream?  Nowhere near as marvelous-looking as the one in the magazine (and the dim lighting problem again).  I think I beat the egg whites too long, so it might have ended up a bit dry.  I’m not sure, I haven’t made a real meringue before.

In the end, it didn’t matter how long I beat the egg whites because this dessert was one of the best foods I have ever put in my mouth.  The taste sent me to a whole other world where only it and I existed.  Simply amazing.

I’ll have to make these again, but be a bit more careful with my egg whites.

Beef Teriyaki Sushi
Makes 8 cones
Adapted from Recipes + magazine, Marsh 2010 issue

Ingredients
1 cup sushi rice, uncooked (or use medium-grain rice)
1/4 cup sushi seasoning
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
500g beef rump steak, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
4 nori sheets, halved
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 medium cucumber, cut into matchsticks
Wasabi paste and pickled ginger to serve, optional

Method
Rinse rice in cold water; drain well.  Place in a heavy-based medium saucepan with 1 cup water.  Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to very low; cover tightly.  Simmer for 12 minutes.  Remove pan from heat; stand, covered for 10 minutes.

Spread rice in a large baking dish.  Sprinkle with sushi seasoning.  Using a flat spoon or spatula, slice through rice to coat grains evenly.  Fan rice to cool quickly.  Cover with a damp tea-towel.

Meanwhile, heat oils in a large frying pan over moderately high heat.  Add beef; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until seared.  Add sauce; cook and stir for 1 minute or until sauce has almost evaporated.  Set aside to cool.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

To make a cone: using slightly damp hands, place a nori rectangle on a flat surface.  Using a wet spoon, spread 2 tablespoons rice over half the sheet.  Top with a little carrot, cucumber and beef mixture diagonally across the rice (don’t overfill).  Roll sheet from the filled side on a diagonal to shape cone.  Serve with wasabi and pickled ginger.

Pistachio Meringues With Green Tea Cream
Makes 8 meringues
Adapted from delicious. magazine, April 2010 issue

Ingredients
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup (75g) unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
300ml thickened cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar mixture
1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons matcha (green tea powder)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 100C and line a baking tray with baking paper.  Place sugar in a stainless steel bowl and heat in the oven for 8-10 minutes until quite warm to touch.

Whisk egg whites in a clean, dry electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 miutes until frothy.  Increase speed to medium-high, sprinkle in cream of tartar and gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, allowing 2-3 minutes between each addition.  Return sugar to oven to keep warm.  The meringue is ready when it is stiff and glossy (about 10-12 minutes).

Dab a little meringue under the corners of the baking paper to stick it down onto the tray.  Use a large spoon to dollop some of the meringue onto the tray (about the size of an apple), repeat to form 8-10 meringues.  Sprinkle with pistachios and bake for 2-2 1/2 hours until they’re dry and sound hollow if lightly tapped on the base.

When they are ready, remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

When you’re ready to serve, beat cream, icing sugar and green tea with electric beaters to soft peaks.  Carefully slice the meringues in half using a sharp serrated knife.  Dollop tea cream onto the base of each meringue, sit lids on top and serve.