Garlic Saikoro Steak (Video) サイコロステーキ

Saikoro steak (サイコロステーキ) is a popular izakaya (Japanese gastropub) dish of delicious beef tenderloin cubes and fried garlic chips. The recipe inspiration came from one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in San Mateo, California called Ginji. 

Since they recently stopped offering this dish, I thought it would be fun to post my easy and delicious Garlic Saikoro Steak recipe for you to enjoy at home. You’ll love the flavor combo of rich, savory steak and garlic chips dressed in refreshing Japanese flavors!

What is Saikoro Steak?

What does saikoro mean?  It actually means “dice.” The steak pieces are sliced into cube shapes like dice. So in my recipe, I quickly sear cubes of beef tenderloin in the frying pan on high heat until medium rare.

Then, I season the diced steak with a refreshing citrus soy sauce called ponzu and serve it with fried garlic chips and grated daikon. The combination of ponzu, grated daikon, and fried golden garlic chips is simply mindblowing!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy – This is an extremely simple Japanese steak recipe to make, even during a busy work week.
• Quick and convenient – This steak doesn’t need to be marinated, so all you need to do is to cook it right before you eat.
• A perfect weeknight meal – Before you leave in the morning, you can set the timer on your rice cooker to cook the rice before you get home. When you return, make miso soup and your favorite salad straightaway, then quickly cook the steak in 20 minutes. Just like that, dinner is on the table!
• Full of flavor – Citrusy ponzu sauce with a slightly bitter edge from the daikon awaken the palate, while the savory fried garlic chips and tender meat satisfy to the last bite.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• beef tenderloin steak – make sure it’s at room temperature when you cook it; find a good quality steak for this simple recipe
• garlic – I used 2 cloves garlic
• daikon radish – use the top green part for sweetness
• ponzu – buy a bottle at the store or make my Homemade Ponzu recipe
• kosher salt – I used Diamond Crystal brand
• freshly ground black pepper
• neutral oil – see my blog post about the best neutral oil for cooking
• sake – or substitute with dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
• green onion/scallion
• Korean chili thread – optional; I used mild chili threads

How to Make Garlic Saikoro Steak

It’s easy to make this fabulous steak dinner at home!

1. Prepare the vegetables. Grate the daikon and drain most of the liquid. Slice the garlic cloves and green onion/scallion.
2. Trim and cut the tenderloin steak into cubes 1–1½ inches (2.5–3.5 cm) wide. season with salt and ground black pepper.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the garlic slices until golden brown and drain on a paper towel. Keep the oil in the pan and heat it over high heat until it begins to smoke.
4. Fry the beef cubes in the garlic-infused oil in a single layer for 1 minute until browned, then flip over to cook the other side.
5. Add the sake to the pan. Transfer the medium-rare steak to a plate.
6. Top with the fried garlic chips, grated daikon, and chopped green onion. Garnish with optional chili threads. Pour ponzu over the daikon at the table.

Cooking Tips for Saikoro Steak

1. Use the right frying pan. I recommend a stainless steel pan or cast iron skillet for this recipe as steaks required high heat to cook. Most nonstick pans are not designed for use at high heat.
2. Make sure the steak is at room temperature before cooking to achieve perfect medium-rare beef.
3. Use a splatter guard. To prevent splatter when searing the steak, you can use an oil splatter guard.
4. Pat dry the beef cubes with a paper towel for a beautiful sear.

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