Ribeye and Perilla Tartlet

STEP 1: COOK AND SEASON THE RICE

Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs nearly clear. Drain well, then cook it with the measured water, covered, at a bare simmer for 15 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for a further 10 minutes. Stir the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together until dissolved and fold the mixture through the hot rice with a cutting motion.

STEP 2: FOLD IN THE PERILLA

Let the rice cool until it is warm rather than hot, then fold in the chopped perilla leaves and the toasted sesame oil. Adding the leaf now rather than earlier keeps it green; hot rice turns it gray, and the aroma goes with the color.

STEP 3: SHAPE THE SHELLS

Oil the mini muffin cups lightly. Press about 1 tbsp (15 g) of rice into each one, pushing it up the sides with a wet thumb or a small shot glass to make a cup with walls about 3 mm thick and an open center. Even walls matter more than neat rims. Chill the shells uncovered for 1 hour so they firm up and the surface dries.

STEP 4: DRY THE SHELLS

Turn the shells out onto a wire rack and dry them at 175-200F (80-95C) for 3 to 4 hours, until they are bone dry, hard, and rattle on the rack. They should snap, not bend. Under-dried shells spit in the oil and go soggy instead of puffing. The dried shells keep in an airtight box for a week; fry them on the day of serving.

STEP 5: FRY THE SHELLS

Heat the frying oil to 375F (190C). Fry the shells two or three at a time for 20 to 30 seconds, turning once, until they puff, blister and turn pale gold. Lift them out with a spider onto paper towels. They crisp further as they cool.

STEP 6: MIX THE MARINADE

Whisk the soy sauce, mirin, toasted sesame oil, light brown sugar, garlic, grated pear and black pepper together until the sugar has dissolved. Reserve 2 tbsp of the mixture for the glaze.

STEP 7: SEAR THE RIBEYE

Pat the ribeye dry. Heat the neutral oil in a heavy skillet until it is just short of smoking, and sear the beef for 30 seconds on each side and briefly on the fat edge, for a hard, fast crust only. The center must stay raw. That crust is what lets beef sliced this thin still taste of beef.

STEP 8: MARINATE AND FIRM THE BEEF

Transfer the seared beef straight into the remaining marinade in a small dish or bag, turn it to coat, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Longer than 3 hours and the soy starts to cure the outer millimeters into something firm and salty. Then freeze the marinated beef for 30 to 40 minutes, until it is firm at the edges but not solid.

STEP 9: SLICE THE BEEF

Slice across the grain at about 2 mm, thin enough to drape and thick enough to chew. You need 24 slices, two per tartlet; the trim is the cook's perk. Slice with one long draw rather than a sawing motion, and keep the slices cold.

STEP 10: REDUCE AND BRUSH THE GLAZE

Put the reserved marinade and the stock in a small pan and reduce over medium heat to about 1 tbsp of loose syrup, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Brush each slice lightly on one side just before assembly and scatter with a few toasted sesame seeds. Concentrated and applied at the end, the soy seasons the beef instead of replacing it.

STEP 11: MAKE THE MAYONNAISES

Whisk the Japanese-style mayonnaise with the ssamjang and rice vinegar until smooth and an even russet color. Ssamjang varies a great deal in salt and heat between brands, so taste as you go and stop when it is assertive but still recognizably mayonnaise. Whisk the second batch of mayonnaise with the white truffle oil and a pinch of salt. Both keep, covered, for three days in the refrigerator. Transfer them to piping bags.

STEP 12: ASSEMBLE AND SERVE

Line the fried shells up on a board. Roll two slices of glazed ribeye loosely together and set them into each shell as a rosette, cut edge upward, so the marbling shows. Pipe a dot of ssamjang mayonnaise the size of a small pea against the beef, then a much smaller dot of truffle mayonnaise beside it, half the size and no more, so the truffle stays an accent. Lay a sliver of pickled radish across the beef and finish with a single micro shoot. Serve immediately: the shell begins to soften from the moment the mayonnaise touches it.