[RECIPE] Veggie Sirloin Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 pack of enoki mushrooms
• 1 small carrot
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 pack of sliced hotpot sirloin beef or cheesesteak beef
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 slices of ginger
• Chicken stock
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Wasabi dressing
• Corn starch solution
• Salt & Pepper

Need to impress your family, significant other, or just want a gourmet side dish? Inspired by yasai no nikumaki, the Japanese bento staple, these veggie sirloin rolls are quick, healthy, and make you look like a fancy chef.

These rolls are easy to eat, and the cut sides are colourful and pretty. Hotpot sirloin beef is preferred, but if you can’t make your way to an Asian supermarket, shaved beef steak (the kind you use for cheeseteaks) will work as well.

Wash and peel the carrot and celery. Cut the vegetables in strips so that they look like matchsticks. Rinse the enoki mushrooms and cut off the roots.

In a skillet, heat olive oil, ginger, and garlic on medium heat. Add the celery and carrot and cook for 1.5 minutes. Add enoki mushroom, a splash of chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the mushrooms are soft. Take the pan off the element and let it cool.

Place a small pile of vegetables (about the diameter of a small glue stick on a slice of the hotpot sirloin beef. Carefully roll the beef, tucking the vegetables in. Stop when there’s about an inch of beef to be rolled.

In a small bowl, make a corn starch solution (stir 1 part starch and 2 parts water). Brush a dab of the corn starch mixture on the remaining beef to be rolled. Complete the roll (the starch acts to seal the roll).

In a non-stick pan, melt some butter. Carefully place a roll in the pan, turning it after around 20 seconds. The beef is quite thin, so it’ll cook quickly. Cook maximum six rolls at a time to minimize overcooking and breaking the roll.

Place the cooked rolls on a plate. To complete, drizzle wasabi dressing (store-bought or home-made) over the rolls.