INGREDIENTS

SHORT RIB INGREDIENTS

• 45 ml olive oil
• 5 kg beef short rib
• 3 onions, thickly sliced
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 12 cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 250 ml rice wine
• 250 ml hoisin sauce
• 375 ml brown sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 12 star anise
• 180 ml ponzu sauce
• 180 ml soya sauce
• 45 ml rice vinegar
• 3 L beef stock
• 750 ml naartjie juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

PEANUT AND NAARTJIE CRUMB INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg naartjies or clementines
• 200 g blanched peanuts, without skins
• 200 ml sunflower oil
• 100 g long grain black rice
• 20 g sesame seeds, toasted
• salt

POLENTA INGREDIENTS

• 1 L chicken stock, good quality (homemade)
• 2L full cream milk
• 500 ml cream
• 4 garlic cloves, roasted
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 fresh thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
• 350 g polenta
• 150 g butter
• salt to taste

MUSTARD CAVIAR INGREDIENTS

• 125 ml yellow mustard seeds
• 187 ml water
• 187 ml rice wine vinegar
• 60 ml sugar
• 7.5 ml salt

PICKLED DAIKON INGREDIENTS

• 250 ml water
• 250 ml rice wine vinegar
• 250 ml white sugar
• 30 ml salt
• 2 large daikon (approximately 500g), peeled and cubed

TATSOI INGREDIENTS

• 300 g tatsoi
• 30 ml sesame oil
• 100 ml hoisin
• 30 ml gochujang
• salt, to taste

GOCHUJANG CARROTS INGREDIENTS

• 500 g baby orange carrots, with fronds
• 15 ml oil
• 15 ml sesame oil
• 15 ml soya sauce
• 15 ml gochujang paste (smooth)
• 15 ml honey
• 15 ml rice wine vinegar
• 15 ml water

NAARTJIE JUS INGREDIENTS

• 30 ml oil
• 125 g beef trimmings
• 1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 25 g mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1.5 L beef stock, good quality (homemade)
• 1 sprig thyme
• 300 ml naartjie juice (freshly squeezed)
• 10 ml soya sauce
• 20 g butter

TO SERVE

• 10 g radish microgreens
• 10 g coriander microgreens

METHOD

SHORT RIBS METHOD

• Heat the oil in a large pan over medium to high heat. Sear the short ribs until golden brown in batches.
• Remove the ribs to a large tray and set aside. Turn the heat down.
• Add the onions, carrot, ginger, and garlic to the pan. Sauté for a few minutes until the onions are soft.
• Add the Chinese rice wine and let it cook to reduce to half. Add the hoisin sauce, sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise, ponzu, rice wine vinegar, beef stock, and naartjie juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Place the short rib in the pressure cooker and pour over liquid. Make sure the liquid is below the 2/3 mark in the pot but covering the meat. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Slow release for 15 minutes. If a spoon does not cut through the meat easily, cook the meat for another 5 to 10 minutes on high pressure. Carefully remove from the bones and compress the meat in a roasting tin in the braising liquid.

PEANUT AND NAARTJIE CRUMB METHOD

• Remove the peels from the naartjies. Reserve the naartjies for the naartjie jus.
• Spread the peels on a roasting tray and dehydrate in the oven at 60°C for 2 hours.
• Spread the peanuts in a roasting tray and roast until golden at 190°C.  Allow to cool.
• Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 190°C. Place the rice into the fryer and remove quickly when puffed. 
• Strain through a sieve and spread on a bunch of paper towels to drain and let it cool slightly. 
• When the nartjie peels are dried, mix with the peanuts and rice. 
• Blend at high speed in a blender to form a crumb texture.  Do not over blend. Mix in the sesame seeds, season to taste, and set aside.

POLENTA METHOD

• Heat the chicken stock, milk, cream, garlic, mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf, and shallot.  Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and let it infuse together for 1 hour.  Pass through a sieve.
• Add ¼ of this infusion to a clean pot. Add the polenta to the infusion and cook until the polenta is done, stirring continuously. Cook until it is the right consistency, by adding more milk if needed. Add the butter. Adjust the seasoning.

MUSTARD CAVIAR METHOD

• Combine the mustard seeds, water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over a low heat. Cook the mustard seeds, stirring often until plump and tender.  Approximately 45 minutes.
• Add more water if needed to keep barely submerged. Cool and set aside until service.

PICKLED DAIKON METHOD

• Place all the ingredients, except the daikon in a medium saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.
• Drop the cubed daikon into the warm pickle liquid and leave it to pickle for at least one hour or until serving.

TATSOI METHOD

• Flash fry the tatsoi in a hot wok with the sesame oil, hoisin, and gochujang.
• Adjust the seasoning.
• Serve with the peanut crumb.

GOCHUJANG CARROTS METHOD

• Place the carrots in a rimmed baking tray, large enough for the carrots to all be in one layer.  In a small bowl whisk together the oils, soya sauce, gochujang, honey, vinegar, and water. Pour this mixture over the carrots, making sure that you toss them well with your hands so they are evenly coated.
• Cover the baking sheet tightly with two layers of aluminium foil. Roast for 7 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for an additional 7 minutes, turning the carrots halfway through cooking or until they are tender in the middle and brown and caramelized at the edges.

NAARTJIE JUS METHOD

• Use the cooking liquid that the meat was compressed in and reduce it until a dry fry. Strain and keep aside. 
• Heat the oil in a large pan and add the beef trimmings. Heat until browned and drain in a colander. Add the shallots and mushrooms to the same pan and sauté until golden brown. Drain in the same colander with the beef trimmings. Place the trimmings, mushrooms, shallots, beef stock, and thyme in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 1.5 hours. Skimming the surface to reduce the impurities. Add some of the cooked-down cooking juices for more depth of flavour. 
• Pass through a muslin cloth into a clean saucepan. 
• Add the naartjie juice and let it reduce.  Skim frequently.
• Once done, add the soya and pass through a muslin cloth again. 
• Keep warm at a low temperature and add the butter just before serving. 
• Adjust the seasoning

TO SERVE

• Add the naartjie jus to the plate, to the one side of the plate.
• Pipe the polenta in 3 rounds on the jus, plating to the one side. Top with short rib. Add the carrots and tatsoi on top.
• Place some of the pickled daikon randomly on the plate.
• Add the mustard caviar and sprinkle the steak with the naartjie and peanut crumb. Finish off with the microgreens.