Wrapping one food with another is familiar, especially if meat, cheese, or vegetables make up the filling—think of ravioli, stuffed cabbage, or egg rolls. Making meat the wrapping is a nice role reversal, a neat twist that is extraordinary enough to allow a simple preparation to wow a crowd. Such is the case with the Japanese negima, in which beef is wrapped around chives or scallions, then brushed with soy sauce and grilled.
Cooks' Note
The cuts of beef that supermarkets most frequently slice thin are from the round, which is not only tough but relatively tasteless, making chicken, veal, and pork (which are routinely sold as thin cutlets that can be made even thinner with a little gentle pounding) viable substitutes.
