Eat Arkansas

We (by which I mean Japanese) call those "crunchies" tenkasu. We use tenkasu in many meals such as noodles and okonomiyaki.

Looking at the picture, I'm wondering if you had Beef Teriyaki. Tataki is prepared by cooking the outside of the meat but leaving the inside raw. I can't imagine with all the food regulations in this country that Hanaroo is actually serving tataki. Beef and tuna tataki are the most common. I love beef tataki with soy sauce and grated daikon radish. YUM

KAT: It's possible my Southernese was misunderstood... but it didn't taste like a Teriyaki sauce. It was good stuff, Maynard, nonetheless.!

Man, I love me some Hanaroo. Whats up Kat, no pic of the spanking new bar? They recently got their liquor license and cut out some seat space for a cute lil bar. Randomness - double punch & tataki used to be my standard fare, but I usually throw in a pretty woman now 'cuz I'm just a sucker for kiwi.

zaoy - No, she means tataki; leaving it raw in the middle isn't any different than ordering your steak 'rare'. Probably can't tell under all the sesame seed but the beef is seared on the outside and basically raw in the middle (thus the contrast of bright pink & brown in the meat pile). Mr Yu pours ponzu all over the yumminess, a few drops of srirachia (hence the random spiciness), then the sesame seeds & scallions. The acidity of the ponzu kind of cooks the beef if you let it sit long enough, almost like an asian ceviche, but I never let it sit that long. :)

Gracie, you must not be Japanese. Tataki and steak cooked rare are so different I can't even begin to describe. I linked a picture of how tataki should look like. And srirachia on tataki??? I have nothing against Japanese-esque food. I just don't want people to get the impression that what's pictured above is what we eat in Japan. It's not.

This sort of things happen all over the world, though. In Japan, what people call BBQ are actually buffalo wings or meat cooked on a grill. Whenever I try to take them to a BBQ joint, many say no thanks, but after I drag them there, they usually end up liking them.

Hope you guys don't think I'm being a boo boo head. I'm just calling buffalo wings buffalo wings and BBQ BBQ.

Actually, I appreciate the clarification and discussion on how preparations get confused/translated across cultures. No, I'm not Japanese, and as much the culture fascinates me, I don't claim to be an expert. I am, however, a frequent patron at Hanaroo. And I can state with certainty that the preparation is similar, but changes have been made. The cut of beef used is MUCH smaller, and Mr. Yu cuts it up into much smaller pieces. As for adding srirachia, that's prolly just something he likes, personal nuances & whatnot. Oh yeah, and the owner/sushi chef at Hanaroo is Korean (I believe); yet the bulgolgi he makes up there is not even the same as other bulgogi I've been exposed too. An old friend of mine used to make really good bulgogi (her family was Korean & learned it from them) - another case of things being translated or changed.

Oh, and the kimchi at Hanaroo is pretty awesome too.

PS - and my original mention of comparing tataki to steak cooked rare was more in reference to the "food regulations" comment than preparation styles.. :)

I think that this is a common problem with any food culture. People outside of the particular culture seem to take liberties with their preparations. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing as long as it's not represented as authentic. Whether it Mexican, New Mexican, New Orleans, Creole, Cajun, Italina, Chinese, etc., call it like it is. Are you serving an authentic cuisine or an adaptation or fusion? Just don't misrepresent what you are serving.

Zaoy, the tataki you linked looks almost identical to my mom's London broil. Why is it so incredibly different from rare steak? Apart from seasoning, obviously.

Bottom line: Hanaroo has THE BEST nigiri in town! Hands down! The ginger dressing is too potent for me, but the other 2 dressings are very good. The fried oyster appetizer is not to be missed. Venture down to Capitol & Louisiana & you won't be sorry.

mcbsmith, the first difference is the kind of beef used to make the dishes. My understanding is that London broil is made using flank or round, and steaks are usually loin, chuck or round. Tataki is made using shank. We also don't marinate tataki. We salt and pepper the outside of the meat, sear for a few minutes, cool the meat by placing a wet towel immediately after cooking, putting in the fridge, or dunking in ice water, and serve it cold. It shouldn't be pink or cooked inside. It should be red and raw. Tataki should also be sliced very thin, about 5 mm-1 cm at most (depending on what kind of meat/fish you're using). To me, tataki is very different from rare steak. I haven't had London broil, so maybe you and I can do a Tataki-London broil comparison dinner? I"m sure these days I can get a good quality beef that I wouldn't be afraid to eat raw.

Japanese like to eat a lot of things raw. Horses, shrimp, eggs.... One of my favorite dishes that I had to give up after moving to this country is with a bit of soy sauce drizzled on top of it. Now that I have my own chickens, I can cook it, but my non-Japanese partner isn't too fond of it. Sigh.

Somehow it got cut off, but the dish I was talking about is raw beaten egg over rice with soy sauce drizzled on top of it. YUM!

Maybe the issue is that my family prefers rare steak, in the true sense, where the inside is bright red. bleeding, and cold, even immediately after cooking. In that case, apart from the cut, it sounds like there would be very little difference. But yeah, I'd be down for a comparison dinner, absolutely.

From 3 years of living in Okinawa as a child, I remember a similar beef dish called sukiyaki. I have also had it served that way in Los Angeles.