They say it takes a sushi chef up to 10 years of training to be considered an expert, so it’s little wonder that some people never attempt to make Japanese restaurant food at home. But if you look beyond fish-based sushi and sashimi, the cuisine has a whole lot more to offer, and plenty of it is achievable by the average home cook. One such dish is negimaki, a beef and scallion roll that doesn’t require expert rice cooking skills or the expense of buying sushi-grade fish. It’s simple and quick to make, and needs just a short list of ingredients.
The core component of negimaki is steak, although the name of the dish refers to the green filling — negi meaning scallions and maki meaning roll. You’ll need a cut of beef that can stand up to being sliced finely and pounded flat with a meat mallet between pieces of plastic wrap. Tenderloin, flank and skirt steak are all good options. To make the rolls, slice your steak against the grain, then lay out the pieces of beef over some plastic wrap on a cutting board, slightly overlapping to form a square. Layer more plastic wrap on top and pound the beef until thin. Whole scallions are then laid across the beef strips and the whole thing is wrapped up tightly like a meat sushi roll. The meat is then optionally marinated then seared until medium rare and covered in a teriyaki glaze. The rolls are sliced into portions and can be served alone as an appetizer, or over rice as an entree.
The evolution of negimaki
Negimaki isn’t actually a traditional Japanese dish, but with a place on menus since its invention in the 1960s, this beef roll could be considered traditionally Japanese-American (along with the California roll and restaurant chain Benihana). The chef who came up with the idea, Nobuyoshi Kuaoka of Manhattan’s Nippon restaurant, based it on a dish that traditionally called for bluefin tuna, so negimaki started life already as a variation, and has continued to evolve.
Some of the most common variations you’ll come across involve changing the filling. Asparagus is a popular choice (sometimes called nikumaki), as the sturdy stems make for easy rolling, as well as making the appetizer a little more filling. Enoki mushrooms also work well, with their long thin strands just begging to be rolled up tight.
Beef is by far the most popular option for the roll part of the dish and has the advantage that it can be cooked for taste rather than doneness. However, you will also find negimaki made with chicken, pork, or even venison. The dish uses a teriyaki style sauce, but depending on your meat and fillings, you might want to mix things up. Beef and asparagus would pair well with a honey balsamic glaze, while chicken and scallions could be paired with a spicy dipping sauce.
