Wagyu Beef and Horikawa Burdock

For wagyu-and-horikawa-burdock rolls, put a marinade made from equal parts sake and soy sauce into a tray, and marinate thin slices of wagyu beef in it. Layer the meat on a rack so it can be lifted out right away, and switching it between a couple of separate batches of marinade makes the work easier. Since the slices are thin, you don't need to marinate them very long — maybe around 10 minutes or so. This marinade gets reduced down afterward, to become the finishing sauce brushed on once the rolls are formed.

The burdock root used for the filling has already been simmered and seasoned. After rolling, I shape it using a bamboo sushi mat (makisu) — rolling it once with the makisu gives you an even thickness throughout, which I think works well for something like osechi (New Year's dishes). After that, I wrap it in aluminum foil lined with a little oil, put it in the oven to bake, and once it's fully baked, I remove the foil and toss the roll in the reduced marinade from before.

This is a basic point, but you place the meat at an angle. What matters when making a roll like this one is avoiding waste — what counts isn't the center but the edges. The important thing is to finish it with as little loss as possible, cutting away the smallest amount you can.