Seared Sirloin With Japanese Dips

Ingredients

• 400g whole piece of sirloin, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• thumb-sized piece ginger, finely grated
• ¼ cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• small handful mustard cress
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• cooked sticky rice, to serve (optional)
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• juice 1 lime
• large pinch of chilli flakes
• small pinch of white sugar
• 1 tbsp wasabi
• 5 tbsp soured cream

Preparation

Serves 2

1. Rub the beef generously with oil and season well. Heat a heavy frying pan and sear the beef on all sides for about 8 mins in total for very rare, 10 mins for rare and 12 mins for medium-rare. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. While the meat is resting, prepare the accompaniments. For the ponzu dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients together with a splash of water until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside. For the wasabi cream, stir the ingredients together until completely mixed, then set aside.
3. After the beef has rested for 10 mins, use your sharpest knife to carve it into thin slices. Fan the slices out on a serving platter, scatter with the cucumber, then the cress, followed by the sesame seeds. Bring to the table with the two sauces and the ginger in small serving dishes for dipping and spreading over the beef slices. Serve with chopsticks and sticky rice on the side, if you like.