Place the shallot, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds in a bowl to make the Wafu sauce. Stir to combine, and ideally, let it sit for a half hour, so all the flavours come together.

Place the sliced garlic in the stir-fry pan with the cold vegetable oil and set over a medium heat. Allow the garlic to slowly fry in the oil until just golden brown, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Return the oil to the heat and turn it up to medium, then lay 2 of the celeriac slices in the oil and cover them with a few good grinds of black pepper. Cook on each side for about 5 minutes, turning often until nicely browned (and perhaps starting to blacken in places), then pour over the Wafu sauce and let it boil briefly.

Remove from the heat, transfer the celeriac to a board and slice it like a steak, then serve on warmed plates and pour over the sauce from the pan. Garnish with the sesame, cress, spring onions and fried garlic.

Cook's Notes

Rather than make the wafu sauce by hand you can place everything in a food processor and whizz it up until the onion and ginger are broken down. Keep in a jar in the fridge for up to a month (it won't go off, but the flavors will start to fade).