Party menu 1: Juicy roast beef with Wasabi, Soy and Trouffle Sauce, Shortcake

Roast beef is one of the best menus for special occasions. To add a Japanese infusion, I always serve it with wasabi&soy sauce. 

I believe that a successful roast beef is determined through the following processes:

• enough seasoning time (longer than 3 hours)
• frying process of meat surface
• temperature controlling in the oven
• using an alarm to prevent over cooking
• resting time after grilling (longer than 30 mins) before serving.

Roast beef with wasabi&soy sauce served at my supervisor's place 
(23 August, 2013)

Ingredients

Block of sirloin or rib: 1.5k -2k (I usually get it from a cool butcher, Ginger Pig)

Sea Salt: 3 tablespoons

Black pepper: 2 tablespoons

Sake (if available): 2 tablespoons 

<Sauce>

Wasabi: 1.5 tablespoons

Soy sauce: 2.5 tablespoons

+ spring onion, coriander for garnishing 

Directions

1. Tie the beef with string to hold the shape. Season the beef by rubbing salt and pepper over the surface thoroughly with hands. I use sake to make this process easy.

Wrap the beef with zip bag and leave it at least for 3 hours (desirably over a night)

2. Heat up a large frying pan over high temperature. Fry the fat side to let the oil come out then do the same with other surfaces until they get nice brown. This takes about 5-6 mins

The pan-fried beef looks like the following picture. Place it in an oven tray

3. Heat up oven over 160 C, cover the tray with aluminium foil (I used a baking tray). Set the alarm in 25 mins and start to grill it.

4. After 25 mins, take the beef out and pierce it into the beef with a long stick until the beef's middle depth. After 5 seconds, take it out and put it on your lips.

It is depends on the beef size but you might feel a bit cold. 25 mins is usually not enough.

Then turn the beef over to the other side, cover it with foil again and put it back to the oven another 7-10 mins (please control the time according to the temperature of the stick)

5. After 7-10 mints, repeat the process 4. 

If you feel the stick as warm as body temperature on your lips, it is the sign of "perfect pink".

Instead for using your lips or Angelina Jolie's, of course a thermometer might be useful.

In that case, it would be up to 40 C. 

6. Rest the beef at least for 30 mins-1hour in the tray.
PLEASE BE PATIENT!!
If the beef were cut and served straight from the oven, all juice were gone! It will be the dry, chewy and sad piece of meat

7.  Store the gravy from the tray, separate it from the fat. Add soy sauce and wasabi to the gravy then combine all ingredients well. 

Slice the beef to thin and serve it with sauce and garnishes (shredded spring onion and coriander).

Shortcake decoration tip

The latest party held at my place was the occasion to celebrate our cool friends' engagement, Bryony&Konrad. 

I made a shortcake with some loves.

 In the large heart, it says "congratulations Bryony and Konrad" drawn by this young artist. 

In the small, Bryony's engagement ring made of black rubies and diamonds was appeared. 

The real one was much more beautiful that was shinning on her left ring finger!!

The sponge was made by referring Lego Cake's coffee sponge.

I made it without coffee melted in milk.

When you make a cake decorated with whipped cream,

there is a tip to make a smooth surface. 

It often happens that when you spread the hard whipped cream over the surface of a baked cake, annoying lines and air bubbles are traced in each stroke from the spatula. 

However, when you put the spatula (desirably a long metal one) in warm water for a while before spreading the cream, it dramatically makes your strokes smooth.

Once the spatula got cool, repeat the warming process.

It is convenient to place a bowl filled with warm water and a wipe in the side of the cake.

Preparation time of roast beef: 3hs for Seasoning, 40mins for cooking and 30 mins for resting