Easy enoki beef rolls

With Beaujolais Villages Marc Dudet 2020

The sweet and sour flavour of the sauce creates a round trip of flavours in the mouth - the savoury beef, umami mushroom and sweet and sour from the ketchup sauce.

Easy enoki beef rolls

Makes 8

Ingredients:

• 200g of Enoki mushroom; stems cut out and cleaned

• 8 slices of thinly sliced beef

• 100g of green bean sprouts (optional)

• 3 tablespoons of ketchup

• 1 teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons of cane sugar

• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar

• 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon of corn starch powder blended with 2 tablespoons of cold water; leave a bit extra for the closure of the rolls

• Salt and peppers

• Toasted sesame, for garnish

Methods:

1. Lay out the thinly sliced beef one by one; pat dry and sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt and peppers on it

2. Divide the enoki mushrooms and bean sprouts evenly into 8 portions

3. Put the enoki mushrooms and bean sprouts to one end of the beef slices and roll. Add a bit of corn starch liquid at the end of the slice to close it; repeat for all 8 rolls

4. Heat a non-stick pan in high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil until hot. Add the rolls to the pan one by one with the closing of the rolls facing down. Turn when the rolls turn golden brown

5. After the other side of the rolls has turned golden brown, mix all the seasoning (both dry and wet ones) and add to the pan and close the lid. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Add some water if the sauce dries out or gets too thick

6. Open the lid and take out the rolls. Pour the sauce onto the rolls and serve

Tips:

• There are a lot of soils/crumbs at the stem of the enoki mushrooms. To clean the enoki mushroom easily, cut the stem of the enoki mushroom before taking it out from the plastic bag.

• Add the rolls to the pan in clockwise direction so that it is easier to remember which roll is the first one in and to be turned first when frying

Wine pairing:

I have chosen a bottle of Beaujolais Villages red wine for this dish. It is an aromatic medium body red. It has strong flavour characteristics of cherry, banana and blackberry jam. It also has hint of herbs and floral notes. Acidity is medium high and tannins level is low. Drinking this wine is almost like having a sweet treat but just without the sugar. The ripe and fruity characteristics of this wine goes well with the sweet and sour ketchup sauce of this dish. The herbaceous and floral notes go very well with the special umami flavour of the enoki mushrooms and bean sprout. The high acidity of the wine cuts through any fattiness of the beef. The proteins in the beef also blend nicely with the wine.

In terms of texture, this dish has a very complex texture – the enoki mushroom has a very special crunchy yet soft texture. When you bite the roll, it is chewy and slightly harder from outside and soft but crunchy inside. The low tannins of this wine preserve the special complex texture of this dish.