Garlic Cubed Steak/Saikoro Steak
Garlic Cubed Steak/Saikoro Steak
What is it?
Garlic Cubed Steak or Saikoro Steak is tender cubed beef steak seared in garlic infused oil, topped with garlic chips, green onions, and grated daikon! It’s the perfect quick and easy entree for dinner or lunch. The combined soy sauce and yuzu give it a slighty zesty and umami flavor.
I first had Garlic Cubed Steak in a Taiwan night market. One of the newer street stalls sold this type of cubed steak with garlic. They tossed the cubed steak on a grill and started torching it until it was crispy and browned on the outside. They had a bowl full of freshly fried garlic chips that they topped the seared beef with. It was so good. I think I almost cried. The second time I had this was in an izakaya in Japan. This recipe more closely resembles the one I had in that izakaya because it’s seasoned with soy sauce and yuzu. They often also season the cubed steak with ponzu. It gives it a tart-tangy flavor similar to the soy sauce and yuzu combo.
Tips for the best Garlic Cubed Steak/Saikoro Steak
Biggest tip is DO NOT OVERCOOK IT! It’ll be really easy to overcook because the steak is cubed and because after searing the sides, you’d add the sauces. Everything goes really fast from there on! Also, let the garlic chips fry up nice and brown before taking them out. It gives the oil a nice garlicky flavor to it. Don’t skip the grated radish! It’s a nice, refreshing way to cut the oiliness of the steak.
Cubed Garlic Steak / Saikoro Steak
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1.25 lbs Steak
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce or Ponzu
- 1 tsp Yuzu Kosho (optional)
FOR GARNISH
- 1 inch Daikon
- 1 stalk Green Onion
Instructions
- Begin by slicing the garlic. Try to make them all even in thickness so it browns evenly when you fry it. Chop the green onions and set aside for garnish.
- Peel one inch of the daikon radish and grate into a bowl. Put a paper towel over it to drain the water. Set aside for garnish.
- Now the fun part! Cut the steak into 1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes and season with freshly ground black pepper and salt.
- Heat 2 tbsp of neutral oil on a stainless steel pan. Fry the garlic until golden brown and transfer to a paper towel to drain excess oil. Keep the garlic infused oil and prepare to sear the steak!
- Heat the oil on high until slightly smoking. Add the cubed steak and quickly sear one side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Flip the steak to sear the other half, be careful not to force the steak off the pan. Flip it only when it browns on the bottom (stainless steel pans are bothersome sometimes). Sear for another 1 minute. Repeat until all sides are seared.
- After seared, turn off the heat and add the soy sauce and yuzu and stir to combine.
- Add the fried garlic chips and garnishes on top. At the very top, add the grated daikon (kind of like a cherry on top!). And enjoy!