Chaya Brasserie Filet Mignon

By Mary Swift-Swan

Thinking of a menu for June brings to mind many things. There are graduations, Father’s Day, the longest day of the year officially starting summer, and many weddings and anniversaries to celebrate. The goal was to find a menu that was simple, yet elegant, as well as something special that men would really enjoy. Bay Crossings was invited to visit the kitchen of Chaya Brasserie to observe Chef Tachibe’s recipe for a dish that could work for any of those occasions.

The Chaya Brasserie in San Francisco is one of three Chaya restaurants in California. The original Chaya is located in Japan and still in operation, which is stunning since it is 360 years old. Many do not realize that connection because the original Hikage Chaya is known for its traditional Japanese cooking. The Chaya owners decided to create new restaurants, the first of which mimicked the French style. Chaya means “teahouse” in Japanese. Brasserie is French. The intent was to open restaurants that are a French Asian meeting. All lead chefs are Japanese, classically trained in French cooking. There are several Chaya restaurants in Japan including La Maree’ de Chaya and now a Macrobiotic Chaya among a whole group of restaurants.

One of the owners came to California about 25 years ago and opened La Petite Chaya. San Francisco’s Chaya Brasserie owner and executive chef, Shigefumi Tachibe, was the notable young executive chef who came from Japan with the owner. Chef Tachibe started with a classic Chaya French menu, but quickly realized traditional French was too heavy for the warmer Los Angeles climate. He cut the sauces to lighten them with what he knew best, Asian ingredients. La Petite Chaya is credited as the first Fusion restaurant.

At Chaya Brasserie in San Francisco, Tachibe has enjoyed working with the amazing varieties of locally fresh quality ingredients including seafood, and vegetables. Over the five years Chaya has been located at 132 Embarcadero, they have developed new menu options unique to San Francisco using these wonderful ingredients. The San Francisco menu also has favorites from other California Chaya Brasserie restaurants. Chaya Brasserieis is also known for their attention to customers and classic quality service.

Filet Mignon Chaya style is a very popular dish. The first rule in cooking a special meal is to start with the best and freshest ingredients available. Frequent visits to a farmers’ market can definitely help.

Wrap each filet with a bacon strip. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides. Heat a pan and add the safflower oil, 1 Tbs. per filet. Get the pan hot, then place the filet on its edge. Rotate until the bacon is browned. Bacon is used just for flavoring. Next, pour off the bacon grease and put in a pat of butter to brown the filet. Brown both top and bottom adding more butter if needed, about 2 min. per side to fully sear, creating a glazed surface. Remove the bacon from the filet.

Place the filet in a clean metal pan and then in a hot oven (450 degree) for approximately 3 minutes. Turn it over and return to the oven for another 3 minutes. For a 1-3/4” to 2” thick filet, these times make a perfect medium rare filet that is warm all the way through yet dark pink in the middle. For rare (cold in the middle), medium (very warm and pale pink in the middle), or well done (hot and grey in the middle), add or subtract approximately 2 minutes per adjustment away from Medium Rare. To avoid piercing the meat, lightly press the center of the filet with a freshly washed index finger tip. If rare, the meat will depress easily, and the meat is slow to return to shape. If medium rare, the finger will depresses less, the meat feels warmer under the fingertip and though slow, it does return to shape. For medium, the depression is shallow and it springs back rather quickly. If well done, it does not depress far at all and springs back to shape immediately. Putting a thermometer in the meat or poking with a fork to check juice color drains the moisture out of the meat making it tough to chew.

While the filets are being finished in the oven, the potato-stuffed soba crepes are cut in half, then quickly grilled with a Tbs. of safflower oil.

Steam the fresh spinach. Heat 1 Tbs. of safflower oil in a pan and add 1 clove of garlic pressed and cut. Steam spinach until it turns bright green. Move to the sauté pan and quickly sauté in hot oil and garlic. Remove from heat when turns slightly dark green.

Arrange the sautéed spinach in the middle of the plate. Place the grilled soba potato-stuffed crepes across the top of the spinach.

After the filets are finished cooking in the oven, they are set on a rack to rest to stop cooking and cool.

Cut a slice of fresh foie gras. Salt and pepper both sides. In the pan where the filets were seared, wipe with oil then heat til very hot. Add the chicken broth. As soon as it boils and begins to steam, add the foie gras. Move the pan on the fire quickly to keep it from burning. Turn it over and do the same thing. As the last of the chicken broth boils out, add brandy and light to flambe.

To assemble each serving, place the filet on top of the soba potato crepes. Place the foie gras on top of the filet and pour a bit of the remaining juice from cooking the foie gras over each one.

Put the pan the filets were in on the stove, over medium heat. Add 1 Tbs. of truffle oil to loosen the fond. (A glaze of meat left on the bottom of the pan.) Next, ladle in the Black Truffle Red Wine Sauce. Heat the sauce, mixing in the fond, then ladle approximatly 1/4 cup over the filet and serve.

Serving suggestions to be made ahead. They can be made as early as the day before.

Combine above ingredients—should have the consistency of pancake batter. Pour onto a Teflon pan with at least 3” separating them to allow for spread. Bake in the Teflon pan, under medium heat, for 30 seconds—remove then allow to cool Combine ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Let cool. Layer small amount of potato stuffing into crepes, heat for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

Reduce above ingredients on low flame for 1 hour or reduce to 1/5. Add 2 cups veal stock along with 1 teaspoon black truffle shavings. Reduce 15 minutes on low flame. Due to the long reduction time, it is best to make it in advance.

Executive Chef and part Owner of the three Chaya California restaurants is Shigefumi Tachibe, known by staff and friends as Tachibe. Tachibe is an exceptionally talented chef and inventor by inspiration and necessity. He has created whole new ways of thinking about food that have been embraced worldwide. His first major contribution to the world of cooking was Fusion Cooking when he was the Executive Chef at La Petite Chaya. La Petite Chaya is known the world over as the place where Fusion Cooking began, but few know that the inspiration and creative effort that made it work was by Chef Tachibe. Chaya Brasserie in West Hollywood eventually replaced La Petite Chaya. Chaya Venice opened in Venice Beach near Santa Monica. Tachibe again was challenged to make seafood adapt to the climate working with Chaya Brasserie’s trademark of traditional French methods and presentations. Chaya Brasserie in Venice Beach is credited with inventing the food style now known as Pacific Rim Seafood. Tachibe is at it again, this time working with the wonderful bounty of the ocean and valleys of Northern California that surround their San Francisco Bay location on The Embarcadero, just a block east of the Ferry Building. He is developing new menu items using Neiman Ranch beef, fresh fish, and vegetables from the area. New items are specials on the menu and something to watch for. Of Tachibe it is said that he is the most famous unknown chef, because he is shy and is not often interviewed.

Tachibe began cooking at 15 years old. “I was poor. I used to be always hungry. Someone said, ‘If you become a chef you can always eat.’ So I got a job in a restaurant and learned to cook.” Tachibe was one of three children, with a sister and brother. The first restaurant he worked in was in South Japan, joining Chaya at 21. He went to a culinary school in Japan, for one year. “They taught a mix of styles: Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, but I chose French.” When asked why. “It’s cool!” he laughed. “In California, there are just two seasons, winter and summer. In long periods of warm weather, people don’t want heavy cream and butter, so I add things from the Japanese style with less butter, a bit of soy, and other techniques to lighten the food.” Tachibe’s fusion styles are in keeping with the rage for Atkins’ low carbohydrates. Imagine: low carb fresh French food.