Hidaka, Hokkaido – In Hokkaido, spring brings out three things: sansai (edible wild plants) sprouting across the countryside, foragers seeking out the fresh ingredients and, unfortunately, bears in search of some quick bites.
Alpine leeks are a delicacy found in the cooler, mountainous regions of Japan from Kanto to Hokkaido. They are similar to ramps or ramsons in North America, the latter of which get their binomen, Allium ursinum, from bears’ love for the tender shoots. The Japanese version, known as “gyōja-ninniku” (or “pukusa” in the indigenous Ainu language), is ripe for the picking when the plant sprouts two leaves on a thick, red stem (in addition to bears, foragers must also beware of poisonous, green-stalked lookalikes).
Chitatap is a traditional Ainu culinary technique for mincing meat or fish. The term refers not just to the percussive tapping of a knife on a cutting surface, but also the resulting dish. Those familiar with Satoru Noda’s “Golden Kamuy” manga, anime and live-action movie franchise may know the dish.
Like their burger cousins, these smash tacos take that chitatap-minced meat and cook them directly on tortillas. And if you don’t have the time to hike up and down your nearest mountain for some gyōja-ninniku, keep an eye out at your local michi no eki (roadside station) or swap in some nira (garlic chives) instead.
Serves 2-4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
30 grams nerigoma (sesame paste)
30 grams Greek yogurt
10 milliliters mirin
75 grams goma kombu (kombu simmered in sesame paste)
75 grams gyōja-ninniku or nira
250 grams beef or pork, minced or mixed
5 grams salt
4 flour tortillas, 15-centimeters across
Arugula or your favorite greens
Shichimi (seven-flavor spice mix) to garnish
Directions:
Mix together the nerigoma, yogurt and mirin and mix until it thickens sauce consistency. Add more mirin if it thickens too much to drizzle.
On a chopping board, roughly chop the gyōja-ninniku or nira, then mix it with your goma kombu and minced meat. Use a knife to chop the three ingredients together on the board to a uniform consistency (remember to say “chitatap” as your knife taps away!).
Divide the meat among the tortillas, spreading in an even layer toward the edges. Heat a lightly oiled, heavy-base frying pan to hot enough for the oil to smoke. Have your extractor fan set to high.
Season the meat with salt and add as many tortillas as your pan allows, meat side down. Cook on medium-high heat for three minutes, pressing each tortilla firmly down onto the pan. Flip the tortillas, allowing each to color in the pan for 15 seconds.
Remove from the pan and with your greens, sauce and shichimi to finish.
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