Duck Tataki



Duck Tataki.  Photo by Rob Robitaille

 I remember the first time I had tataki.  Beef tataki - at our favorite sushi place in the Twin Cities.  I was perusing the menu, saw it, and read the description.  Essentially, quickly seared raw beef, thinly sliced, and served with ponzu.  I don't know why, maybe it was the Mai Tai, but I wasn't about to pass up an experience like that.  The server returned a few minutes later and delivered a beautiful plate with perfect rectangles of paper thin, generously marbled beef, layered one over the other with a garnish of thinly sliced red cabbage artfully arranged above it, and small nest of thinly shredded diakon off to the side.  I stared at it, chop sticks at the ready, not really sure where to begin.  I almost felt like a vandal ready to spray paint over Monet's Water Lilies.  Fortunately, that feeling faded once I took my first bite.  The beef was buttery and tender, and the sauce was lively and bright.  It was a taste experience I had never had before and I didn't want it to end, but like all good things, it did.  That experience changed me in some visceral way.  Although I had eaten plenty of raw fish, I had never really tried raw meat, or at least, meat that rare.  Since then, I have eaten it numerous times both in restaurants and at home.

My wife also loves tataki, so last night I decided to make duck tataki, pictured above.  Like the one I had at the restaurant on that wonderful night, this also was served with ponzu.  I included some shredded scallions and a thinly sliced lettuce salad, also served with ponzu.  It brought me back to my happy place just like that first night.