Kissa Tanto's Carne Cruda

Vancouver's Kissa Tanto specializes in Japanese- and Italian-inspired cooking and has won numerous awards.

Servings: 2 (doubles easily)

Ingredients:

3 oz beef tenderloin

1 tbsp burnt soy sauce (recipe follows)

1 tbsp high quality extra virgin olive oil

1/2 Asian pear, finely diced

1/2 tsp Arima sansho-pickled Japanese peppercorns, or Chinese Sichuan peppercorns

1 radish, thinly sliced

1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1/4 cup sunflower sprouts

BURNT SOY SAUCE

1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce

3 green onions

GNOCCHI FRITO

1/3 cup lukewarm water

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp rendered beef fat, duck fat or bacon fat, chilled

1/4 tsp salt

Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Cut meat into cubes about 4 mm by 4 mm. Mix with burnt soy, olive oil and salt to taste. Make a flattish mound on a plate roughly like a hamburger. Cut pear into small cubes. Garnish meat with Asian pear, peppercorns, thinly sliced radish, finely grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano and sprouts. Serve with gnocchi frito.

Burnt soy sauce: Trim root ends of green onions. Broil on a foil-lined baking sheet until completely charred, about 8 minutes, flipping midway. Blend soy sauce and charred green onions until completely smooth.

Gnocchi frito: Add yeast and sugar to water. Let sit until foaming, about 5 minutes. Combine flour, fat and salt in a food processor and pulse together. Add water into mixture slowly until a dough forms. Transfer to a counter, then knead together a few times. Place ball in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk about 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches in a small wok or pot. Heat until about 350 F – a cube of bread will brown in 20 seconds. Roll dough on a floured board to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares. Fry until golden, puffed and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally for an even colour.