Garlic Saikoro Steak (Video) サイコロステーキ

A favorite izakaya (gastropub) dish in Japan, fabulous Garlic Saikoro Steak is super easy to make at home. Simply sear the tender cubes of beef steak and top them with ponzu sauce, grated daikon, and garlic chips. It’s a restaurant-quality steak dinner in just 20 minutes!

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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Garlic Saikoro Steak

4.72 from 28 votes

A favorite izakaya (gastropub) dish in Japan, fabulous Garlic Saikoro Steak is super easy to make at home. Simply sear the tender cubes of beef steak and top them with ponzu sauce, grated daikon, and garlic chips. It's a restaurant-quality steak dinner in just 20 minutes!

Print Pin

Video

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 inches daikon radish
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ ¾ lb tenderloin steak (at room temperature)
• ▢ Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1½ Tbsp neutral oil
• ▢ 2 Tbsp sake (can substitute with dry sherry or Chinese rice wine)

For Garnish

• ▢ 1 green onion/scallion
• ▢ Korean chili thread (optional; I used mild chili threads)
• ▢ 3 Tbsp ponzu (you can make my Homemade Ponzu recipe)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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Instructions

 

• Gather all the ingredients. I recommend a stainless steel pan or cast iron pan for this recipe as steaks required high heat to cook. Most nonstick pans are not designed for use at high heat.
  
• Cut the top 2 inches daikon radish to use in this recipe (the top green part is sweeter than the white part, which gets bitter toward the bottom) and peel the skin.
  
• Grate the daikon. Drain the liquid from the grated daikon and set aside.
  
• Slice 2 cloves garlic. Thinly slice 1 green onion/scallion and set aside for garnish.
  
• Trim off the fat and tendon from ¾ lb tenderloin steak and cut into cubes 1–1½ inches (2.5–3.5 cm) wide.
  
• Season the steak with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  
• Heat 1½ Tbsp neutral oil in a large stainless steel frying pan or cast iron pan over medium heat. Fry the garlic slices until they are golden brown. Reduce the heat if necessary so the garlic slices do not burn. Transfer them to a paper towel to drain the excess oil. Keep the garlic-infused oil in the pan.
  
• Heat that same oil over high heat until it begins to smoke. Pat dry the steak with a paper towel and place it in the pan in a single layer. Cook the steak until browned, about 1 minute. Don‘t move the steak until the bottom browns and releases on its own. Flip the steak over to continue cooking the other side until nicely browned. To prevent oil splatter, you can use an oil splatter guard.
  
• Pour 2 Tbsp sake and shake the pan to evenly distribute it in the pan. Then, transfer the steak to a plate if you like it medium rare. For a medium steak, continue cooking for 1 more minute.
  
• To serve, place the garlic slices, grated daikon, and chopped green onion on top of the steak. Garnish with Korean chili thread. Pour 3 Tbsp ponzu over the grated daikon before serving.

To Store

• You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 2 days and in the freezer for a month.

Nutrition

Calories: 343 kcal · Carbohydrates: 3 g · Protein: 38 g · Fat: 17 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 109 mg · Sodium: 351 mg · Potassium: 640 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 1 g · Vitamin A: 60 IU · Vitamin C: 3 mg · Calcium: 49 mg · Iron: 3 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: daikon, steak

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