Negimaki Is Sushi For Steak Lovers

If Japanese food has a hold on your stomach, heart, and wallet, you're absolutely not alone. Whether you've studied all the top tips and are now a pro at eating sushi or you know what's not worth ordering at your local sushi restaurant, it can sometimes feel like Japanese cuisine can't get any better. However, if you're a lover of thin-cut beef, simple umami flavors, and get a dopamine hit whenever you glimpse perfectly rolled sushi, you might fall head over heels for a new favorite Japanese food.

Negimaki is the popular Japanese dish served with teriyaki sauce that needs to be on your radar. If you've come across wagyu beef, then you know Japanese beef has a reputation for being tasty (and expensive). Negimaki combines two words: "Negi," Japanese for scallion, and "maki," which means roll. In this dish, thinly sliced beef is rolled around scallions and fried or sautéed to crispy perfection. The beef is then served with a teriyaki glaze, which can also be used as a marinade. Through gastronomy or interior design, Japan teaches the world that, sometimes, less is more; beef negimaki is a testament to this. The simple savory dish works because it lets the flavors of the meat, scallions, and teriyaki sauce shine. Negimaki is often served on its own as an appetizer, or it can be made into a filling meal with steamed white rice.

Since the scallions sit at the core of this dish, using the freshest and best-quality scallions you can get your hands on makes a winning plate of negimaki. Only the green part of the scallion (the white part has a different purpose in cooking) is used in negimaki. If you want to soften the scallions, blanch them for less than a minute to get them to your desired texture. However, if you prefer the intense flavors and crunch of these onions, feel free to leave them raw. As far as the meat goes, the beef is pounded until roughly ⅛-inch thick (or less depending on personal preference). Once it's thin enough, the beef is rolled around the scallions, marinated in the teriyaki sauce, and sautéed. The final touch is the teriyaki glaze, which adds the finishing shine and taste to the rolls.

While beef is most typical in Japan, it can be swapped for chicken. Chicken negimaki works in the same way as beef negimaki: Pounded chicken is wrapped around scallions before getting cooked, glazed, and served alone (or with rice and broccoli). With chicken negimaki, the scallions are briefly cooked in soy sauce to help the chicken fully absorb the flavors from the inside out. Chicken negimaki is also often cooked on the grill or broiler so the flavor can best permeate the meat. While it is less common, negimaki may sometimes be made with thin slices of pork in Japan.