Learn how to achieve perfectly cooked medium rare Japanese-style sous vide steaks. This Wafu Steak is served with grated daikon, scallion, and ponzu sauce.
At the dinner party you host next time, your steak will be perfect. Whether you are cooking for two or for a large party, no sweat. Everyone will get a perfectly cooked steak on their plate.
How is that possible? I’ll show you how I make Japanese-Style Sous Vide Steaks or Wafu Steak (和風ステーキ).
What’s Sous Vide?
Sous vide (/suːˈviːd/; French for “under vacuum”) cooking is a method of cooking in which vacuum-sealed food is placed in a temperature-controlled water bath.
You set the temperature of the water exactly where you want it to be (typically much lower than normally used for cooking), around 131 to 140°F (55 to 60°C) for meat and higher for vegetables. Since the water is maintained at the temperature you want the food to reach, you don’t have to worry about overcooking or burning the food.
The idea of the water bath technique is to cook the food evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and retains moisture.
Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking
No Over-/UnderCooking: You can control the texture of the food and eliminate any chance of over-or undercooking the food item because the bath temperature is the same as the target cooking temperature.
Perfectly Moist: Since the food is sealed in a vacuum bag, none of the moisture and flavors is lost through the cooking process vs. a grill or a stovetop. The protein stays super juicy and flavorful, you no longer have to figure out exactly how long to cook.
Evenly Cooked: It’s challenging to prepare irregularly shaped or thick food items on a stove. With sous vide cooking, it will come out perfectly as the optimal temperature will be reached throughout the food item.
More Flavor & Aroma: Spices or other ingredients added to the food item in the bag transmit their flavor more intensely than during normal cooking. Do not overseason the food.
How to Perfectly Sous Vide Steaks
If you are going to cook a medium-rare steak, you would submerge the bag of raw steak at 135°F (57°C) and leave it in the temperature-controlled water bath until the steak reaches that temperature. Hence, the cooking time is longer than normal cooking times.
Recommended Temperatures for Steak Doneness
Based on my own research on the internet, here are the guidelines for cooking steak.
Rare: 120°F / 49°C
Medium Rare: 135°F / 57°C
Medium: 140°F / 60°C
Medium Well: 150°F / 66°C
Well Done: 160°F / 71°C
The Sous Vide Equipment You’ll Need
I find these two tools helpful when I sous vide at home.
An Immersion Circulator: It’s the device that you insert into a pot of water or tub. The idea is fairly simple. It heats and circulates the water to a precise temperature in the pot.
For this recipe, I used the Wifi Nomiku and I love this sleek device! In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if the Wifi functionality would be handy. However, as soon as I started using it, it made perfect sense. It was really easy to keep track of the cooking process on my phone even when I was out of the house.
It also doesn’t take up too much space in your storage space compared to Sous Vide Supreme Water Oven.
A Vacuum Sealer: Mr. JOC purchased a FoodSaver last year at Costco to store foods that we buy in bulk and to keep the leftover foods fresh for a longer time. Now we’ve been using our FoodSaver for sous vide cooking as well.
Alternatively, many people use a heavy-duty plastic zipper-lock bag (but the air has to be pressed out of it) if they don’t have a vacuum sealer. It’s okay to use those bags as long as they are rated for higher-temperature cooking.
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Sous Vide Steak – Japanese Style (Wafu Steak)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 1-thick (2.5 cm) steak (NY or any cut you like)
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt (as needed)
- freshly ground black pepper (as needed)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for sous vide cooking)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (for searing)
To Serve
- 1 green onion/scallion
- 1 inch daikon radish
- 1-2 Tbsp ponzu
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Fill your pot with water (with Nomiku, fill water past the line).
- Preheat water to your desired temperature. For medium-rare steak, set to 135°F (57°C).
- Slice the garlic clove. Trim off the excess fat around the steak.
- Season both sides of the steak with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Seal the bottom end of the food saver pack.
- Place the steak in the bag and add the garlic slices and 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Then seal the top of the bag. Make sure you pick “moisture” option as we have olive oil inside.
- Place the bag into the preheated water. A one-inch-thick steak will be ready to eat in 1 hour, the general rule is 1 inch per hour of cooking. The best part about sous vide is that it’ll never overcook, so it can be in the water for much longer (as long as water stays at the same temperature).
- When the steak is almost done with sous vide cooking, slice the green onion thinly and grate the daikon. Set aside.
- When 1 hour has passed, pick up the bag and cut open the vacuum package. If you have more than 1 bag in the pot and plan on searing the meat separately, you can leave the rest of bags inside the pot.
- Remove the excess moisture on the steak with paper towel. It’s important to do this step so that steak will have nice sear. The excess moisture will “steam” the steak in the pan.
- To get nice sear marks on the steak, remove the garlic slices. Don’t worry, the steak already has nice flavor and aroma from the garlic while cooking in sous vide. If you like, you can cook the garlic on the side of the pan. Keep in mind when you cook sous vide, do not over season the meat. It cooks for hours with the seasoning inside and the seasoning is completely absorbed.
- Preheat the cast iron skillet (or any frying pan) over high heat and add the grapeseed oil. When you see the smoke coming off from the side of the pan, add the steak. Sear each side of the steak for about 1 minute until it develops a golden-grown crust. Press down the steak once in a while to get nice sear mark, but don’t move it around. Flip and repeat on other side. You can also finish the steak on the grill.
- Transfer to a plate (no need to rest with sous vide!). If you serve the steak in traditional Japanese way (with chopsticks), transfer to a cutting board and cut into ½ inch slices.
- Gently squeeze grated daikon (liquid should not drip down) and place generous amount on top of the steak. Sprinkle green onion and pour the ponzu on top. Serve with extra ponzu on the side.
To Store
- If you are not planning to eat the steak immediately after sous vide cooking. Soak in iced water (½ ice and ½ water) for 30 minutes to chill, and then transfer to the refrigerator to store and enjoy later.
What model FoosSaver are you using? Costco is having a deal starting tomorrow but the model they’re selling has mixed reviews. I still might give it a try since Costco has an excellent return policy and I’ve been using sous vide recipes to save time.
Hi Myztikal, Thank you very much for reading Nami’spost!
Nami has this model: https://amzn.to/1rYCiGs
We hope this works well for you!
I have been cooking sous vide recipes for a little over a year now, and have cooked steaks the same as you have with this recipe. I was not familiar with the Nomiku brand and sadly found that they ceased operations in 2019, but I have a wi-fi / blue-tooth Joule sous vide that I have been enjoying cooking with from egg bites to roasts and briskets. Also, one thing that I have been doing with the beef steaks is a couple of day dry brine the same as with your Kurobuto pork recipe, but I leave both the beef and the pork uncovered in the refrigerator – turning once after day one (the surface of the meats are dry, but not dried out). I love that sous vide basically cannot come out over cooked too.
Take care!
Hi John and Le’Anne,
We’re glad to hear you enjoy cooking with a sous vide machine too!🙂
Thanks for sharing your cooking experience and tips with us!
Your recipe inspired my husband to try something new but with his variation. He used a rib steak, salt & pepper, (no garlic but that would have been fantastic if he had), and just browned the steak on the BBQ. The grated daikon with ponzu sauce really adds a great flavor! Next time, I will try the Sous vide method as I see in your comment below that you can do it ahead of time, then just brown the meat when your guests arrive! I like that idea! Thank you so much for your recipes and inspiration!
Hi Annie! That sounds so delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your (husband’s) cooking experience with us! We get to learn tips from each other! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Can I steam this in the instant pot? If so, how long?
Hi SF! Sorry, Instant Pot “steam” function doesn’t work, but some models of IP have sous vide mode, then you can use that program. 🙂
Hi, Nami-san.
I bought a Sous Vide machine on Black Friday sale.
I hadn’t used it yet and am not sure if I really need one.
Do you still use yours often?
And what is your opinion about Sous Vide?
Thank you.
Hi Junchan! We do! We use it to cook meat – for example, we’re making dry aged steak for Christmas and we’ll sous vide before grilling, so all we need is to give char on the grill and inside the steak is PERFECTLY cooked! We use it to make chicken, steak, lamb… mostly meat. It’s the only way we can cook perfectly inside. And it’s great if you have to cook for….. like 8 people. No stress. The meat is already cooked to perfection, so all you need is to give char. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I am doing some research before I purchase a sous vide machine and had a quick question…
You mentioned that I can keep the steak for consumption later by placing it in an ice bath and then refrigerator. However, how would you suggest I heat up the steak so that it wouldn’t be overcooked?
Hi Pei! You just need to sous vide again to bring back the temp. 🙂
What would happen if a wagyu steak meets sous vide?
Hi Lu! We think the fat in the meat melts, especially the REAL wagyu from Japan (Not American “wagyu”). The fat content is really high… We are afraid of wasting our real wagyu. Maybe American wagyu is okay?
HI Nami,
Looks great.. I have a question..
“Soak in iced water (½ ice and ½ water) for 30 minutes to chill, and then transfer to the refrigerator to store and enjoy later.”
How do you warm up the steak? Do you have to sous vide it again? or just sear it?
Thank you!
Hi Sim! Thank you! We defrosted, bring it to room temperature and grilled. 🙂
Just watched the video. Very professional Nami. I love that you have very soft and soothing background music as opposed to loud headache-inducing “modern” style music. I say modern for lack of the correct name for the genre that I’m referring to.
Hi Monica! I understand. Thank you so much. I’m happy to hear you like how we make videos! 🙂
Hi:
Nice recipe! It came out nicely.
I did, however adopt a slightly different approach. I did not have a water bath sous-vide machine. What I have is a Breville counter-top oven which does have an adjustable thermostat. Using that & setting it to 140F I was able to accomplish the task.
I also used a zippy-lock plastic bag, instead of the vacuu-seal machine (which is buried in the cupboard somewhere. The trick here is to get most of the air out, close 3/4 of the top & then submerge the bag with the steak in it in a pot of water with just the corner poking up above the water. The water pressure will force the remaining air out of the bag & then you just close the bag.
The vessel I used was a 9×9 baking tin which holds enough water to cover the baggie.
Once the oven has stabilized in temperature, I poured 150″ (hot water) into the pan with the steak & place the pan into the oven. Don’t worry, the water cools off immediately with the cool pan & steak. Or, you can use cooler water, the cooking time will just be a little longer.
Final temp 136F – medium rare.
I also monitored the oven with a hand-held infrared temp sensor (cheap), but a candy thermometer should work as well.
Just another way to skin the cat
Thanks.
Hello Al! Thank you so much for sharing your cooking experience without immersion circulator with us! WOW! Very, very impressive! I was a bit worried while reading when you mentioned that you put the ziplock bag in the oven but I guess as long as it’s in the water, the bag won’t catch a fire… It gives me a little suspense reading your comment! 😉 I’m super impressed that you didn’t have to cook over stove (that’s what I thought I would do if I don’t have an immersion circulator). I guess you can maintain the heat much better with the oven. 🙂
Great idea. I don’t have a counter-top oven but I guess a normal oven would work too if you could keep temperature reasonably constant?
I’m very keen to try sous vide but at $199 for the wifi nomuki, I don’t think I’ll be trying it anytime soon. That’s why I love the countertop oven method! Very impressive.
Is it ok to put shio koji inside the plastic bag with the steak while sous viding?
Hi Lu! Sure! You just need a little bit and skip salt. 🙂
Hi Nami, I’m curious about the noise that you said you get when recording in the kitchen. I’m not the greatest expert but I’m learning a lot with regards to music (and audio recording is one of the important cornerstones to that). I wonder what the difference is between your setup in the kitchen compared to the other room. There probably is something sending an electric signal through the cable of the mic when in the kitchen but the source sending this noise can be so varying (like electronic devices, flashlamps, or even more distant sources). A current can be also send through the gear holding your mic. (I’m just blasting ideas out on what it could be).
So what are the differences in the setup? Like microphone position and direction, position in room/kitchen relative to you and other electronic objects, placing and mounting of mic? I like to look into it – I’m a researcher in a very different field but my nature is to sniff stuff like this out 😉
Hi Leo! Thank you so much for helping me! The kitchen is more spacious and open area and maybe the sound is recorded differently there. Both times the microphone was clipped on my shirt to record. You’re more high tech than me!
Most likely microphone input level was too loud. We didn’t know about it till now when we were reading the manual. There is a switch inside the device to change the input level. We’ll open up and check the level when we record next time. Probably it’s set to high so it was recording my breathing! 🙂
I think the I should’ve asked, “is the noise persistent or arising when someone or something is causing a sound?” From what you said it sounds more like it arises at particular moments.
Additional sound might also be the issue (although I can’t say for definite). The kitchen tends to be one of the rooms with the most acoustic echo (the other room being the bathroom) mainly because there is little sound-absorbing material. If these echos recombine where the mic is situated then the amplified sound going in may “clip” the sound. Clipping is basically a sound arising from the audio system as it can only take a certain amount of sound in, it will saturate at too loud signals and cause irritating electronic noises that occur around when talking.
Getting a right level balance is also needed. Too little will not record a good signal-to-noise ratio (the true audio signal recorded over the noise, where the noise can arise from the electronics or additional ambience). Too much sound again leads to distortions. You can tweak the internal input level – I would try first the input level of the system that is connected to the mic as its the most easiest one to adjust.
Radio signals from can also be a problem. Usually they could be heard in the recording as something persistent but the noise usually fluctuates (between louder and quieter) depending on what causes the radio signal or what the recorded signal is doing at that point. The easiest trick on that part is to set all electronic equipment that receive Wi-Fi, mobile data, etc. to airplane mode.
If its your breathing? If there was something different in the setup (like the input gain/level) then potentially. If the noise is coming and going, and by chance it coincides with your breathing then very likely. To check that is to do a short recording of audio and a video looking at you while you something in the kitchen (should be something like 1-2 minutes only – no major task to save your time). Might also be good to do the same in the other room for a reference.
Anyway I hope this gives some thought. Sorry that I responded slightly later than I intended. I’m currently packing to move to a new rented property with my brother. We spent the weekend just filling boxes and taking furniture down. Very tiring job to do!
Hi Leo! Thank you so much for all the info! I’d love to offer packing job to return my favor as I actually enjoy packing/unpacking part of moving. I know, I’m a bit crazy.
We “think” we figured it out. The internal microphone setting was “auto” and we changed to low. We came back to the office and listened to the sound and we think it’s good. We tested different setting to make sure what is right. Hopefully next recording will go smoothly, and I might as well change the clothes 10 times again to do that last failed recording for those 10 recipes! Yikes.
I forwarded your comment to Mr. JOC too. We appreciate your helpful input!
And good luck with moving! I love moving to a new place and start organizing/decorating from scratch. 😀 Wish I could help…
I am on a low salt diet and would like suggestions on seasoning during the sous vide cooking. I like ponzu and would like to use it. Can I use it when cooking or must it be used only when serving?
Thanks!
Hi Doreen! I would recommend drizzling ponzu after cooking. The meat will absorb more salt from ponzu (soy sauce) while cooking, but it’s not necessary if you are on a low sodium diet. You just want a layer of taste when you eat. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to try sous vide for awhile now, but still haven’t purchased one. The meat looks delicious (although I prefer my meat more rare). Thanks for your recipe!
It’s really amazing how we can prepare perfectly cooked steak even before guests arrive and then all we need to do is just sear right before the dinner time. I love that part. No mistake, no sweat and no panic (which happen often to me). For rare, you have to cook at 120°F / 49°C. Thanks for your comment! 🙂