When I first learned to cook, I saw the octagon and walked around, purely because I was frightened by the image of his teeth and claws.
For a long time, my heart refused to let him appear in my dishes, although the taste of the dishes was very general.
Until later, I accidentally saw Octagon when he was a child on the Internet, and he was instantly sucked into powder by that stupid and cute "green fat man".
Only to find out, although the appearance of the octagon is rough, but the taste inside is gentle and elegant, I have not been able to find a similar taste to him, to describe it in words, so I have been the taste of the octagon, called fennel.
The first person to put the star anise into the mouth to taste the taste, must not be particularly rejected, although the appearance of the star anise is rough, but the taste emitted can be refreshing, before being used as a seasoning for cooking, the star anise is a spice for a long time, existing in the sachet around the waist of the nobles.
Bajiao was born in the Guangxi region of China, and in ancient times, he had a more poetic name, Huaixiang.
There is also a cute Zhuang name, Mark Horn.
The name Octagon is also too simple, and given his position as the overlord of the spice industry, we northerners gave him a slightly more atmospheric name, Dashi.
Compared to other spices, the taste of star anise is relatively low-key, which is why I use words like "gentle and elegant" to describe him.
Even so, when faced with a less enthusiastic and shy umami, his presence would have a devastating blow to the umami.
When cooking soup, if it is chicken soup, rib soup, it is best not to put star anise.
If it is lamb or beef soup, consider asking one or two corners of the octagon to come out of the town scene and suppress their remaining fishy smell.
Of course, if you accidentally mix an octagon in the vegetable soup, it will become his exclusive name of the star anise soup.
However, the hero is not worried about the place, the star anise is easy to ruin the soup, but it has an irreplaceable position for the perfection of the meat aroma.
When I was learning to cook, my master said such a sentence,
"Stew without star anise, can only be regarded as sauce, with star anise, it is considered sauce fragrant."
Don't look at the octagonal is not big, but the aromatic factors contained in the body are endless.
Under the cracked skin of the octagon, it is rich in fennel oil, which has two main components, anisole and anisaldehyde.
The aroma in the dish, if you want to break the casserole to ask the end, is ether and aldehyde.
Many spices also contain these substances that bring an aromatic taste, but there are also side effects, that is, bitterness.
What is valuable is that the star anise not only has no bitter taste, but also has a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Combined with so many factors, it is not difficult to conclude that the star anise is inherently a good stew.
The taste of the star anise is eye-catching, but not sharp, just in time to suppress the odor, support the main taste of the meat, but it will not take the degree of taste, the key is that he himself has not yet bitter taste, which is the main reason why the star anise can stand out among many spices.
Of course, no matter how mild the star anise, it is also compared to other spices. Compared with meat, in the same volume, it will contain thousands of times more flavor factors than the latter.
Therefore, the principle of the amount of star anise is, rather less than more!
Because the formation of the taste is irreversible, it cannot be reduced after the excess, and can only be pushed back and restarted.
As mentioned earlier, he has eight corners, and it is a big deal to use only one corner, if it is not enough, it is good to add a corner to a corner.
Star anise can appear in multiple scenes such as pickled, fried, brine, and roasted.
When cooking meat dishes that do not need to be blanched, star anise can appear in the pickling step.
Because the pickling is in a normal temperature environment, the volatilization of the octagonal taste will be incomplete, which can play a role in flavor support.
For example, when cooking chicken dishes, I am accustomed to putting some star anise in the early stage of the yard taste, which will not affect the freshness of the chicken, but make the taste of the dish wider and richer.
For example, this dish of cola chicken wings is marinated in advance with green onion ginger, pepper, salt and flower carving wine to taste at the bottom, and I will put an octagon. By the way, I personally think that the sweetness of cola chicken wings can stop at the chicken skin, and the chicken inside should be tasted in advance.
Even when I make a dish of braised shrimp, when I soak the shrimp with scallion and ginger water, I will also put star anise. If it is frozen shrimp, I will also put an octagon in the soup of boiled shrimp.
When star anise is used for brine and burning, it is best to use some means to help him release all his taste.
The most direct and crude way is "frying", and temperature is the most effective tool for releasing flavor, including dealing with spices.
Cool oil small fire, put the star anise and other spices together, the temperature slowly rises, the hot movement of the molecules accelerates, and at the same time let the star anise deep in the body of the home treasure out of the plate.
Pay attention to it, you can fish out the star anise and put other spices into the bag.
If you are a little more cheerful, you can directly pour the soy sauce into it and simmer it, then add water, a pot of marinade, or burn the juice to use.
Regarding stir-frying, I say something bold and also the hidden skill of octagon.
Star anise is the only three spices that can be used to stir-fry vegetarian dishes, and the other two are the famous peppercorns and dried peppers.
However, the octagonal shape conditions are really not good, if it appears in the dish, it will greatly affect the dining experience, generally I am fried while picking it out.
After the pot is boiled, it is good to leave the taste, not everyone is suitable for showing their faces, and the highest state of cooking is not to eat its taste, but not to see its shape.
Of course, for stir-frying vegetarian dishes, the appearance of star anise is also divided into occasions.
Dishes based on freshness are resolutely not allowed. Vegetables with some peculiar flavor, such as potatoes and cabbage. Or dishes with slightly heavier flavors can ask him to come out to help, such as stir-fried cabbage in sauce, sour and spicy potato shreds, and so on.
Finally, let's talk about the selection of the octagon, many bloggers on the Internet have done some octagonal selection topics, such as wild octagon, there is a highly toxic ah, straight hook, bent hook or something.
In fact, it is not so exaggerated, black-hearted businessmen are also black-hearted people, and dare not charge it with highly toxic things.
However, when the star anise is made, there is a phenomenon of smoking with sulfur, in order to make a good color.
When we choose, we have this few guidelines:
Big, small, big.
Fat, skinny, pick fat.
Don't choose too bright colors, look naturally dark.
It is best to open your mouth, and the fruit inside is full.
Seven corners and nine corners are also normal, but most of them have to be eight corners.
This article is like this, there are spices in the back.
Friends who love to cook, remember to pay attention, don't miss the update later.