“Amerasian” Cuisine – StopLight Pepper Steak

Well, It had to happen.. The loyal fan club has started kvetching that I am introducing too many new foods, too many new ideas, too many new tastes. Seems they like boring.. (To me boring is only good in a combat zone…)

Ah, well, here is a tried and true Asian specialty that even my fan club can make and enjoy. And just to make sure I don’t stretch any brain cells amongst my readers, I’ll use a recipe that is truly an American’s vision of Chinese food… (Also StopLight peppers are Red, Yellow and Green bell peppers, not a pepper that grows at a stop light…)

Wikipedia says:

Pepper steak also called green pepper steak) is a stir-fried Chinese American dish consisting of sliced beef steak (often flank, sirloin, or round) cooked with sliced green and/or red bell peppers and other seasonings such as soy sauce and ginger, and usually thickened with cornstarch. Sliced onions and bean sprouts are also frequent additions to the recipe. Evidence for the dish’s existence in the United States dates from at least 1948.

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“Amerasian” Cuisine – Katsuretsu

Japanese “Amerasian” food, “Yoshoku”, or western food are European / American dishes that have been imported to Japan and retrofitted to match local tastes.

To quote the New York Times 03/26/2008:

Today yoshoku is thoroughly Japanese. It is a staple of television cooking shows and mainstream magazines. The lines outside venerable upscale yoshoku restaurants here in Tokyo are as long as ever, mostly with older Japanese for whom yoshoku provided a first taste of a Western world they had not seen. Yoshoku restaurants are also a requisite of the trendiest new shopping districts, like Midtown and Roppongi Hills, where they cater to younger Japanese whose mothers made the food at home.

Yoshoku was born during Japan’s Meiji Restoration, the period that followed this isolationist country’s forced opening by America’s so-called Black Ships in 1854. Japanese were dispatched to Europe and America to learn about Western laws, weapons and industry. They also brought back the cuisine. Shocked to discover how much shorter they were than Westerners, Japanese determined that they would catch up not only economically and militarily but also physically, by eating their food.

The really funny part is these dishes are now making their way back to the U.S. as Japanese dishes, in specific “katsuretsu” or simply “kastu” which stand for cutlet, which can be Chicken katsu, Menchi Katsu or a minced meat cutlet, Hamu Katsu or a minced ham cutlet, Gyu Katsu or a beef cutlet, and of course Tonkatsu, or pork cutlet.

Katsu can be served in a myriad of ways, as a sandwich filling (katsu sando) or served on Japanese curry (katsu karē). It is sometimes served with egg on a big bowl of rice as katsudon—an informal one-bowl lunchtime dish, other variations on tonkatsu may be made by sandwiching an ingredient like cheese or shiso leaf between the meat.

However served katsu is most commonly eaten with a type of thick Japanese Worcestershire sauce called tonkatsu sauce (tonkatsu sōsu) or simply sōsu (“sauce”), and often with a bit of spicy yellow karashi (Japanese mustard) and perhaps a slice of lemon.

Similar cuisine with an ingredient other than pork, beef or chicken is called furai (fry）not katsu (cutlet), ebi-furai (fried prawn)

Do note: I’ve used pork here, but as noted beef or chicken may also be used in a very similar manner.

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Bacon Jam

My eldest daughter found a most intriguing, tantalizing and unusual “condiment” in one of the arcade kiosks around the city.

Bacon jam. At first I was rather skeptical, even had a bit of an “eww” moment, but after a taste on a toasted English muffin along with a fried egg, I was. “In Hog Heaven!”. A sweet, salty, smokey, crisp and with a hint of heat from some form of pepper taste that seems to be a mix between bacon and potted meat from my youth.

I can see this on toasted bread with a slice of fresh tomato, and a piece of lettuce as a quick BLT, a tablespoon swirled into a bowl of pinto beans, or maybe a bit on the top of a cheese burger for that unmistakable bacon cheese burger taste.

Unfortunately, from the price it seemed to be gold jam, or puree of diamond dust. If I want that taste, I’ll have to make it myself.

As for bacon Sarah Hepola, on Salon.com, suggests that eating bacon in the modern, health-conscious world is an act of rebellion,

“Loving bacon is like shoving a middle finger in the face of all that is healthy and holy while an unfiltered cigarette smolders between your lips.”

And I can go for that…

Wikipedia defines jam as:

Jam contains both fruit juice and pieces of the fruit’s (or vegetable’s) flesh, however some cookbooks define jam as cooked and gelled fruit (or vegetable) purees.

Properly, the term jam refers to a product made with whole fruit, cut into pieces or crushed. The fruit is heated with water and sugar to activate the pectin in the fruit. The mixture is then put into containers.

A lot of fruit in there but if I swapped the word bacon for fruit….

For my recipe I’ll add sweet onions cooked down to a caramelized syrup along with a couple of chipotle peppers, and garlic.

One could for that absolute Rogue Chef twist use, Smoked Carmel Bacon Chunks, for an added flavor boast.

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Slow Cooked Pepper Steak

After mastering yet another vendor proficiency test, (one could say I am now buzz word compliant), I decided to chuck the rest of the afternoon and go visiting clients.

Sitting in an office high overlooking a major intersection, and chatting with a client as he reviewed my missives posted here, a slow cooked pepper steak produced by his wife, was mentioned. As he went on to describe the mouth watering lusciousness of the meat, the contrasting colors of the stop-light peppers and the richness of the gravy produced I knew I HAD TO HAVE that recipe.

Also remembering that I had made the lady of said clients house a gift of a 18″ Bad Wolf special chef’s knife, I decided that my usual brash tactics might not work, and that a bit of kitchen research would be the better part of valor…

The real key here is low and slow cooking in a moist environment….

Collagen, the predominant protein in connective tissue, is quite tough to chew, and is found in abundance in tougher cuts of meat. At 150 degrees it starts to melt and become gelatin-like as the temperature climbs. At 150 the muscle tissue will have tightened fully and the bonds between individual protein molecules become stronger and tighter. These bonds become so tight they drive water from the meat back into the braising liquid!

IF REMOVED AT THIS POINT, THE ROAST WILL BECOME TOUGH AND DRY.

Once the internal temperature of the meat reaches 170 degrees, a second process begins as melted collagen makes meat seem tender and moist. Further heated, the collagen in the muscle will break down progressively into soft gelatin as the tightened muscle tissue strands continue to separate.

Because collagen won’t melt completely until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 200 degrees, the meat must be cooked to this temperature and held there for an hour to take full advantage of this phenomenon.

The meat fibers will swell to take on the liquid surrounding them, and with the collagen will turn to gelatin, so that the meat becomes a wonderious tender, moist, taste treat seasoned with all the goodness of the various peppers, onions and garlic that have simmered with it.

Do note:

I’ve not used high priced sirloin, or tenderloin, but have used chuck steak which is quite economical that produces glorious flavor and a worthy texture when cooked properly. And properly is low and slow.

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Hamburglery in the Second Degree

There are few dishes as versatile as the hamburger and it has made it’s way into trendy restaurants under the guise of gourmet food. These once noble burgers are showing up on menus pimped out with blue cheese dressing, pineapple, chilies, goat cheese, caviar, mushrooms and pesto.

The real secret to ascending above the mediocrity of the masses, and delivering a truly divine burger is the same secret as all true gourmet dishes. Fresh, Simple, Splendid.

Use the freshest ingredients, prepare them simply, for a splendid experience.
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London Broil on the Grill

It’s nice and pleasant up state, and it’s time to grill. But no hot dogs, no burgers, PLEASE!. While in the local wanna-be mega-mart, I noticed that London Broil was available for a very low price, so it does look like it’s London Broil

London Broil is not a cut of beef but rather a method of cooking. It was one of the first recipes to become popular in early restaurants and so the name London Broil because synonymous with a cut of meat.

Originally the cut was flank steak, but over the years the name has been applied to almost any cut of beef that is very lean and less tender. Hence you might find London Broil being a steak or a roast that comes from the sirloin or round sections of cattle.

The original method of the London Broil was simply a flank steak, pan fried to medium rare, cut cross grain and served. This method is perfect for a flank steak because it becomes very tough if cooked too long and by cutting it into strips you made it seemingly tender.

The method later included marinating the flank steak and then grilling or broiling it.

The marinade traditionally used for London Broil has ranged anywhere from a simple mixture of olive oil with salt and pepper to a wide collection of ingredients, basically what was close at hand.

One workable marinade for London Broil is a mixture of soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, ginger, balsamic vinegar and honey. This lens some what of an Asian flair and is very close to what is used in an number of Chinese food restaurants for stir fry beef.

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Grilled Steak – Asian Style

As spoken prior:

I am in an undisclosed location somewhere in upstate New York, to escape the oppressive heat and humidity, as such I am in a celebratory mood and am in the mood to cook…

Whilst at the local not-so-mega-mart, I discovered a sale on decent rib eye steaks, perhaps it is time to indulge my taste for real meat protein.. But perhaps with a rouge chef twist, served with steamed bok choy, and a nice cold noodle salad, with a small ramekin of the Smokey Teriyki Sauce for dipping.

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Grilled Steak, a refresher course

As the finale of my holiday grilling extravaganza, I intend to grill a pair of steaks, for my wife and I. Steaks done well on the grill are one of the most perfect foods, where as steaks done poorly are an insult to all humanity, and the difference in approach and technique is quite, quite small. Part of the issue is that most people do not grill good steak enough to learn what is the “right way” and what is the “wrong way”. (For the purpose of this article I’ll use MY definitions, your mileage may vary.)

Now steaks are the most popular cut of meat to throw on a grill. They are flavorful, tender, and expensive, so you want to get the most out of your steak. Most folks are confused by all the different steaks there are , the best way to grill a steak and exactly how do you know when it is medium rare. (BTW well done is NOT cooked, it is CHARCOAL..)
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