<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > = Preface =</h1>
Before sending a small picture of the fried steak, everyone expressed great interest. I also said that I would never renege on my word, and I would definitely take the time to write out the recipe after half a year. Sure enough, half a year has passed...
Today we will talk about the origin of Japanese fried food, as well as the method of fried steak and dipping sauce.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > = Japanese fried =</h1>
Speaking of fried steak, let's talk about the fried food in Japanese cuisine.
The history of fried foods in Japan is not very long, and what we see so far is roughly divided into two types, one is tempura based on seafood and vegetables, and the other is fried meat steak based on pigs and beef.
Chronologically, tempura is a little earlier than the latter, but only slightly earlier. Japanese tempura, which actually did not exist before the 16th century, comes from the Roman word "tempura", which is transliterated from tempura in Chinese characters.
But tempura doesn't mean fried in English, how did it come about?
The currently recognized version is recorded in Tetsunosuke Tada's History of Taste of Japan, which was introduced to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the mid-16th century, and how the word evolved from "tempero" (originally meaning "cooking") to "tembero" according to the pronunciation, and then to "tempura" by false rumors. Another version suggests that tempura was derived from the Latin word "Tempura", referring to the Portuguese and Spanish Christian fasting period, during which only vegetables, fish, etc. could be eaten, and later introduced to Japan from Portugal.
Whether the above rumor is true or not, it is confirmed from the research of Japanese cultural scholars such as Professor Xu Jingbo that the appearance of fried food in Japan was confirmed after the first Western missionary Francesco Xavier landed in Japan in 1549.
However, the original Japanese fried food, only vegetables and seafood, most of the tempura we see so far, are basically composed of these two categories.
Why? This begins with the Nara period in Japan.
Beginning in the Nara period, Emperor Shengmu banned the slaughter of animals in 737, although it was not a continuous prohibition during this period, but it also caused that since modern times, the traditional Japanese diet has rarely consumed animal meat (seafood is not counted).
Emperor Seimu
It was not until the time of Emperor Meiji, in 1872, when emperor Meiji, who was 20 years old at the age of 20, ordered meals to be slaughtered, personally tasted beef, and reported to the whole country through the media, that the meat fast that had lasted for more than a thousand years was abolished. The famous Japanese Wagyu beef we eat now was only selected and bred into a fine meat breed from the Meiji period.
Emperor Meiji
The Japanese schnitzel method we are talking about today is naturally after the Meiji period. So since it's all fried, and there's tempura first, and then there's a schnitzel, so why is the Japanese fried shrimp called tempura shrimp, but the Japanese fried beef is not called tempura steak?
This is because, although they are both Japanese fried, tempura and schnitzel are two different practices.
In terms of cuisine, the two come from two different cuisines.
Tempura comes from Portuguese cuisine and has been profoundly refined, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a traditional Japanese cuisine (after all, there is no such thing as tempura in Portugal...). ）。
However, there are many theories about the origin of schnitzel, some theories are that it originated from the Vienna tonkotsu in Austria, and some believe that it comes from French food, while Professor Xu Jingbo's elaboration is more detailed, thinking that it was invented in the second year of Taisho (1913), after Takada Masotaro, who was studying cooking in Germany, returned to Tokyo, or was invented by a student of Waseda Institute of Higher Learning named Keijiro Nakanishi in the 10th year of Taisho (1922).
But regardless of the origin, of whichever it comes from, offat is a central European cuisine, and the time is certainly much later than tempura, so this practice is not too native to Japan, and still retains most of the style of watercress. In today's Japan, this kind of practice is still classified as foreign food, even if there are some Japanese food shadows in the dipping sauce and method, at best it is called Japanese foreign food, just like we say Haipai Western food, soy sauce Western food, and coincidentally, the method of pork chops in Haipai Western food is also very similar, and some people think that it is evolved from Viennese pork chops.
And if you look at it from the perspective of practice, there is also a big difference between the two.
Tempura is wrapped in batter, the pursuit is to fry a light cloud-like fried clothing, although it is fried but refreshing, while the schnitzel is poured with flour, then wrapped in egg liquid, and finally glued to the breadcrumb and then fried, to the fried clothes crisp and caramelized.
Does this approach feel similar? That's right, this is how Japanese pork chops, or Gillette pork chops, are made
Japanese tonkatsu is "tonkatsu" in English and "tonkatsu" in Japanese. The Japanese word "porpoise" means pig, while "カツ" comes from "カツレツ", which means "tonkatsu", which connects the two together, which is also the meaning of pork chops.
As for why it is called Gillette pork chop, the word Gillet is derived from the English cutlet, and it may also be french côtelette, meaning fried meat slices, which may later be transliterated by Hong Kong (no exact word) to Gillette, referring to this kind of Japanese pork chop.
The practice of Gillette pork chops and the fried steak we are going to talk about today, the method is generally the same, but the pork can not be eaten raw, so it is generally thinly cut, pickled and beaten to be fried until fully cooked, and the steak should not be too old, so the thickness should be slightly thicker, and the maturity can be controlled at about 50%.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > = Japanese steaking method =</h1>
Since it is a Japanese-style fried steak, the low-gluten flour, eggs and breadcrumbs that the fried clothes must have, all three are indispensable, otherwise the fried ones will not be "Japanese".
With fried clothes, choose a suitable steak. It is generally recommended to choose a steak with a higher grade, tender meat, less fascia and a certain thickness.
More suitable parts such as eye flesh, plate tendons (it is best to remove tendons), and the eye meat cover is also a good choice. Why choose less tendons, because if there are more tendons, you need to cut thin slices when you eat, so as not to affect the taste too much, such as the brain, beef steak, etc., but because the fried steak is wrapped in a layer of fried clothes, cutting thin slices is actually difficult to operate, it is easy to cut the fried clothes into pieces, so we try to choose the parts that can be cut longer and longer, tender and less tendons, which is more appropriate.
In terms of thickness, it is recommended to choose a steak of about 2-2.5cm, if it is too thick, it will generally be sandwiched after being fried in a fried suit, so it is necessary to cook it at low temperature before frying. And if you cook and then fry at low temperature, it will be easy to overcook near the fried clothing part, after all, the oil temperature is very high, the heat conduction is very fast, so I do not recommend cooking at low temperature first and then frying, or choose the right thickness to fry directly.
And choose to fry directly, the steak must be completely restored to room temperature, if the weather is cold room temperature is very low, then it is recommended to put it in the oven fermentation stall, at least the steak must have a dozen degrees to do, otherwise the frying time is quite short, and all the noodles are deeply immersed in oil, the whole process is less than a minute, if the thawing is not thorough, then even if it is finally left to stand, the center of the steak will still have sandwiches.
If you choose wagyu beef, the meat is more tender and can be fried directly. If you choose a lean grass-fed, you can marinate it in advance with salt water and onions, which can make the steak tender, so that the fried steak will be more tender.
After a thoroughly thawed steak, the excess water on the surface should still be wiped off with kitchen paper.
Then wrap in a layer of low-gluten flour and gently pick it up to shake off the excess flour.
The egg mixture can be made with whole yolks or beaten as a whole egg.
The floured steak is covered with a layer of egg mixture.
Then wrap evenly over the breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, which is warm to 160-180° C
Fry the steaks in a frying pan for about 1 minute until the surface is slightly golden brown, and then it will further change from light yellow to slightly dark golden brown.
Let the steak sit on a shelf that drains the oil to avoid the steak from getting softer. If you have an oven at home, it is recommended to put it in a warm 30-40 degree oven and let it sit, let it sit and cut it to eat.
So what's dipped? Fried steak does not have a very fixed dipping sauce, but only dipped in black pepper and salt will be easier to grease, the following to recommend a few Japanese dipping sauce, and fried steak is still more compatible.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > = Dipping recommendation =</h1>
1. Wasabi + soy sauce
You think wasabi soy sauce can only be dipped in sushi sashimi?
Of course not...... Wasabi and soy sauce can also be often encountered in many roasted wagyu beef shops, and the slightly spicy top taste, with a little sweet, salty and fresh taste, can not only dissolve the greasy, but also enhance the taste of the beef itself.
Of course, the wasabi sauce tries to choose the real wasabi, how to choose? Just look at the ingredient list. Shizuoka is recommended by The Japanese origin and Yunnan by the domestic origin. And if you have free hand grinding, it is also possible...
2. Grapefruit pepper
It is also a seasoning often seen in Japanese meat dishes.
Many people think that this thing is made of grapefruit and black pepper, and sometimes they watch those who eat and broadcast and some shopkeepers, saying that there is a faint fragrance of grapefruit and the taste of black pepper, which really makes me look embarrassed.
Japanese yuzu pepper actually has nothing to do with yuzu, it has nothing to do with pepper, it is actually made of orange and pepper.
So why is it called grapefruit pepper?
Because yuzu pepper originated from the Kyushu region of Japan, and the Kyushu dialect called chili pepper pepper, the word "pepper" has always been used.
As for yuzu, because in Japan, citrus plants such as orange are called grapefruit, and although the orange meat is sour, it can be used as a condiment and is also a common condiment in Japan.
Common grapefruit pepper, also with this Japanese green citrus, crushed with seedless peppers, mixed with salt and then refrigerated and matured for a period of time, because the temperature is fresh and spicy can be fresh and greasy, so fried, grilled meat, sukiyaki are suitable.
However, because the varieties bought in China are still different, and the taste of their own cooking is not the same, it is still recommended to buy authentic Grapefruit pepper imported from Japan online.
3. Radish pureed grapefruit vinegar
The base of this sauce is yuzu vinegar, which is also known as "yuzu", and the Japanese is "ポン酢". Like the grapefruit pepper above, the grapefruit here also refers to citrus and is a very historical sauce, at least since the Edo period. Today, our common yuzu vinegar is made with Japanese citrus juice with soy sauce, miso, and a soup base made from konbu and wooden fish flowers.
Radish puree is also a flavor-enhancing spice commonly used in Japanese cuisine, taking the slightly spicy and refreshing sweetness of the radish.
In addition to radish puree and grapefruit vinegar, one of my own collections will also have onions, soy sauce, miso, seven flavors of Tang Xinzi, and even need to be wrapped in kelp and cooked for a week, but I think you will not want to make such a complicated version, so let's first make a simple one.
We first prepare white radish, white onion, soy sauce, miso, grapefruit vinegar, and seven flavors of tang spices. Among them, white radish and grapefruit vinegar are a must, and others are recommended if possible.
The first is to peel and wash the radish and white onion, and then use a grafter to graft the amount and rub out about two spoons, of which the amount of white onion and white radish is about 1:5.
Squeeze out the excess juice and finally only half a spoonful of radish and onion puree remain.
Then pour in soy sauce, miso, and grapefruit vinegar, and their ratio is 1:1:14, and finally sprinkle with a little seven-flavor tang spices.
When dipping, you can stir slightly to mix the temperature of the radish puree with the grapefruit vinegar, so that the meat is very degreasing after dipping.
When treated to the big guys have tasted a lot of dipping sauce, at the beginning each has a favorite, some like wasabi some like grapefruit pepper, but eat to the end to ask again, basically choose the radish puree grapefruit vinegar, indicating that this taste is very tested, haha.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >= Conclusion =</h1>
Finally, let's talk about why I started writing about Japanese cuisine.
In fact, there is no reason for it, because it is really greasy to eat steak all the time... But sometimes eating some Japanese-style roasted wagyu beef, or other Japanese beef dishes, it is a fun, it is a chic flavor that is completely different from coarse salt black pepper, so I will share these flavors with you.
In the future, there will be some more complex Japanese dipping sauces, barbecue brushing methods, of course, there are also the introduction of various barbecue parts and specific cutting methods.
Stay tuned!