introduction
Before I saw a friend from out of town in the group asked a recommendation about beef balls, I realized that the things we ate as a home-cooked meal were out of the province, and it was also a scarce thing...
So there is today's article, mainly written for foreign friends who want to eat and eat, roughly talk about the Chaoshan beef hot pot and beef balls, by the way, recommend a few relatively reliable shops to everyone.
Chaoshan beef hot pot with beef balls
When it comes to beef balls, we have to mention [Chaoshan beef hot pot] first. As a native of Teochew, beef hot pot and beef balls are really nothing special for Ailu. To say that "fame" is something that seems to have been slowly accumulated in the past 1 or 20 years due to the development of tourism and the increase in foreign publicity. In the past, Chaoshan beef hot pot should be regarded as a "local specialty" cuisine, in addition to Chaozhou, Shantou and other regions, other places are indeed relatively rare to have such a delicate way of eating.
Yes, in fact, Chaoshan beef hot pot is essentially just a way to eat shabu-shabu. According to the current trend, it is a bit like Japanese yakiniku. The parts of the cow are also carefully sorted, and then the original taste (then dipped in sand tea) is retained by simple cooking (shabu, roasting).
▼ People who often eat beef hot pot may be able to easily distinguish the meat parts in the picture below
This relatively light way of eating is more in line with the taste of Cantonese people as a whole, after becoming famous, now basically all large and small cities in the province, more or less will have some Chaoshan beef hot pot restaurant distribution. Among them, some of them have slowly become the current chain big brands from the original local small shops, blooming everywhere.
After asking some foreign friends, Ai Lu also found that many people are not very interested in this way of eating, and the general feedback is "too light". Especially friends in the Sichuan-Xiang region, they seem to have some physiological rejection of the salty sweet and fresh flavor of the dipping sauce, and they will require more salty and spicy in taste. Therefore, in order to take care of the tastes of others, the chain of beef hot pot restaurants will always work the dipping sauce, such as building a dipping table like Haidilao, giving customers more room to choose.
Then again, although people in various places have different acceptances of the Chaoshan beef hot pot, they invariably have a strong interest in its "derivatives" - that is, beef balls. Many friends mentioned the Chaoshan region, and the first reaction was not beef hot pot, but the round, large beef balls.
There are actually three kinds of beef balls!
Here is the popular science for foreign friends to see, Cantonese or Chaoshan beef lovers can ignore. There are generally two kinds of Chaoshan beef balls, which are divided into beef balls and beef tendon balls.
Beef balls
As the name suggests, it's made of beef, and yes, pure beef.
▼ The surface of the beef balls is smooth and the whole is large and rounded
This method pursues the original taste of beef, the flavor of the meat is simple, basically you can only eat salty and fresh (complex is not good), good beef balls meat is crisp and refreshing, sweet and juicy, full of gravy and meat aroma, in the taste of relatively light people are very popular.
Beef tendon pills
Beef balls are made of pure beef, that beef tendon balls... Of course, it is not all-used beef tendon, but meat mixed with tendon, so in theory it should be called "meat tendon ball".
▼ Beef tendon pills will look less smooth and regular from the outside
Compared with the purity of beef balls, the taste of beef tendon balls is more complex, in addition to meat and tendons, butter will be added to increase the meat aroma, butter will also make meatballs more juicy and tender. The seasoning pursuit is rich, and garlic (garlic head) and pepper are generally used, so beef tendon balls generally have a strong garlic flavor and will be suitable for people with heavy tastes. Ai Lu especially liked to eat beef tendon balls when he was a child, and now that he has grown up, he has slowly discovered the goodness of beef balls.
Wait, didn't you say there are three? What about the third?
In fact, here is just a shake of a clever ~ the third is actually what we call "raw pills", that is, raw meatballs.
Raw meatballs
▼ Wait for the wrong picture, not this one! Raw pills should be cooked and eaten! No poisoning! No poisoning! No poisoning!
Generally, after the meatballs are beaten into meat paste, they will be squeezed out and placed in semi-open water to set, which is conducive to later preservation and maintenance of the appearance.
But this step will also make the meatballs lose some moisture and taste, not the "perfect" meatballs. Therefore, some diners who pursue a better taste will be more inclined to eat "raw pills".
Raw meatballs, as the name suggests, are categories that have not undergone the step of stereotyping and are directly squeezed out and served. Direct boiling can eat more fresh, sweet, juicy and tender beef balls, which are not the same flavor as ordinary meatballs. Friends who often go to beef hot pot restaurants should know that the "raw balls" on the menu in the store are often more expensive than ordinary meatballs, which actually shows the confidence of the store and the recognition of diners.
About "Hand-beaten beef balls"
When it comes to beef balls, many people always flash in their minds the scene of a group of big men with large iron rods and tapping beef, knocking a lump of fresh beef into meat paste...
Just now at the beginning of the article, everyone has also seen that there are still many people pursuing the so-called "hand-beaten" beef balls, where Ai Lu can pat his chest and tell everyone:
There are no - no - no hand beef balls on the market now, they are all posed - posed - posed - posed -
Man is a lazy creature, and once a thing is in high demand, it must be produced in the direction of pursuing efficiency. Machines can't work faster than human hands? Isn't it easier than manpower? In fact, machine-beaten beef balls are not only more stable, but also have higher yields, which can better meet the needs of the market, and to a certain extent, the cost has also been reduced. Many of the big hammer meatballs at the door of the store, more are to attract guests to pose, sent to your mouth is definitely still machine played, put ten thousand hearts well ~
▼ The daily output is so large, who will be entangled in the hand machine?
Conclusion: Beef balls with handmade gimmicks are not necessarily more delicious, but they are certainly more expensive. Hand-to-hand play is not only time-consuming and expensive, but also costs the master Fei Dahan, honestly accept the "machine hit" beef balls.
Where does Ai Lu recommend you to buy beef balls?
First of all, the first option is definitely for familiar Chaoshan friends to buy their certified, reliable stores - may be hot pot shops, may be market shops, or may be private slaughter or factories and other channels to buy. For example, the cattle pills that the Ai Lu family eats themselves often take goods in the processing factory opened by the villagers in Guantang Village, after all, the quality of their own people will certainly not be bad.
▼ Some local friends also sell beef balls in the ticket circle
If there is no miraculous Chaoshan friends, then choose an online store to buy it ~ there are many stores we can choose from, including some chain brands that have "become bigger and stronger", and there are many local beef hot pot restaurants in Chaoshan that have started to do online stores. Compared to buying some messy starch pills with low meat content, it will be much more reliable.
The following Ai Lu will recommend some brands or local famous stores that do online stores to provide to everyone, if you are interested, you can consult and purchase. In terms of taste, I will not make too detailed comments, on the one hand, because some shops are recommended by friends, Ai Lu has not tried it, on the other hand, beef balls have eaten too much but think that everyone's frozen meatballs taste is half a pound eight two... (Raw pills YYDS), in short, if you want to eat, you can first find a big brand such as Baheli to try, if there is a more detailed need, just wait for AiLu to find time to make a horizontal review
Baheli
To say that the commercialization of Chaoshan beef hot pot, which is the most successful branding, may only be Baheli ~ ~
▼ There are several shops in Baheli on Taobao, and the reasoning should be the same
As a Chaoshan beef hot pot restaurant that blooms all over Guangdong and even the whole country, both the overall taste and product quality of Baheli are maintained relatively well. Now living in Shenzhen all year round, Baheli is also the first choice of Ai Lu when he wants to eat beef hot pot (in addition to the price is not bad, the number of shops and the proximity to home is also a big advantage).
The meatballs of the Bahe family Ai Lu think it is not bad, the quality is passed, and when a friend surnamed Wang consulted me, I also recommended the meatballs in Baheli to her. Because the brand scale operation, the advantage is that the supply chain is stable, the product production is relatively stable, if it is the first time to try beef balls, I think it is not easy to make mistakes in the purchase of Bahe.
Chaozhou Guantang Brothers Beef Balls
Let's talk about a local beef hot pot restaurant in Chaozhou, this should be the most qualified restaurant for Ai Lu, because he opened it in my hometown village...
▼ The following Xiangshan Village is Ai Lu's hometown, and the manager of the brother beef, including the employees, are also villagers in the village, and the neighbors are basically acquainted
Whether it is Teochew people or tourists in the tide, they should know the name of "Guantang beef". Because there are many cattle slaughter in this place, its beef freshness and quality are second to none in the local area, and Guantang beef is also famous for it. Brother beef because of the opening of the village, close to the location of the high-speed mouth, its geographical advantages have made him soar in popularity in recent years, every holiday when the village traffic will always surge, and even there is a difficult scene, but also let the father back to the village complain for many years...
To be honest, the most delicious beef hot pot in Guantang must not be a brother, but the most well-known one is definitely brother beef. Of course, there are good and bad, as mentioned earlier, especially pay attention to the taste of raw materials, to be real "delicious", it is definitely still looking for local people to buy more reliable local market goods or suppliers. After the popularity is high, it is definitely a quantity of production, the taste is passable, but the advantage is that it is not easy to run out of stock, and people are willing to operate online stores, so that everyone is easier to buy online.
His family's advantage is still close to the local cattle slaughter, fresh meat, fresh balls, when there are few people to eat is still good, so it is also a shop to try.
Chaozhou Yuexing Cattle Fang
The old beef hot pot restaurant on Rainbow Road in Chaozhou should be considered well-known in Chaozhou.
The location is in Kuiyuanjiao South Road, near the Guangdong Garden, not too difficult to find
This shop Ai Lu is not a "frequent", but it has been to more or less 10 times in total, from elementary school to college, there are several class reunions and high school casual meals, all of which are eaten in this store. His meat and meatballs are remarkable and can be tried.
Shantou Chuangdi
From the shop recommended by Qunyou Ruru.
A beef hot pot restaurant that is more popular with tourists is not bad in the locals, and it is well known and tasted, so you can try it.
If you arrive at the store, you can take a look at this map.
Shantou apricot blossom Wu Ji
This is also a small and well-known Internet celebrity shop, and Ai Lu's friends in Shantou also know some.
Apricot Blossom Wu Ji comes from the recommendation of the group friend [Mapo Tofu] classmates, and her evaluation of this shop is still quite high——
His family's Douyin store Ai Lu has also brushed, whether it is the landscape of on-site sales or the online sales of the store are not bad, it should be a more successful store under the current live broadcast boom. The quality looks good, coupled with the strong recommendation of the group of friends, it is also more recommended to try.
Shantou Feixia Lao'er beef
This shop just happens to have his own meatball inventory in ailu, which is a brand that my friend [melancholy turtle] often brings to Ailu, and it is also a taste that I personally like.
The shop is quite distinctive, there is a group of bare-chested men (without muscle) at the door hammering meatballs (posing), which is still a very interesting scene for tourists.
It just so happens that his family also has an online store, which is the name of the Taobao store -
But I have some doubts about the price... After all, everyone has seen the above shops, the price of beef balls is probably more than 60, and the price of this online store is a bit outrageous.
The following is the price that Ai Lu asked the day before yesterday, but when Ai Lu handed over, he seemed to have changed the price (but in fact, it was still a little low).
Therefore, the brand is reliable, but the store is not reliable Ai Lu does not know, there are conditions or choose the front of the online shop bar ~
PS: The main purpose of pushing this is to tell you: Feixia's beef balls are quite OK. It's enough to know this.
Of course, in addition to these stores, there are many good channels, such as the well-known old stores such as Fuhecheng just mentioned above, which can be selected, and there is not much introduction here.
How to eat beef balls?
Beef balls eating is very simple, more is to make soup, of course, you can also use as meat to fry, or even do dry frying, these evil and crooked methods Ai Lu have tried, next time find a chance to write a beef ball cooking recipe.
In fact, eating meatballs is not too exquisite. You can eat beef balls as hot pot balls, put two when cooking noodles, and put two when cooking soup.
Compared with the meatballs that have not been frozen in the refrigerator, the taste and texture will definitely be worse. So how can it be better to eat? Here's a tip to make frozen meatballs taste better - that is, thaw, like fried steak, put refrigeration to slow down, before cooking and then warm to room temperature, boil water after medium-low heat, so that the taste is the best ~
The cooked meatball soup is simply accompanied by a little lettuce and garlic, which is a very delicious meatball soup, which is very simple and easy to make with the freshness and aroma of meatballs.
Well, today's article is written here, if it is helpful for everyone's purchase, please do not skimp on your caution and little stars