Cooking Terms Glossary

Cooking With Dee - Summer 2010

Exploring Beef around our World

Hi everyone. Hope you are as excited that summer is around the corner as I am. We’ve been exploring recipes now for about a year and it’s been fun learning about beef and what to do with the different cuts. I thought that we would start talking about beef recipes around the world.

Since summer is around the corner what better country to start with than Japan. Japanese food is light and easy to eat and can be described as more of an art form than anything else. In Japan food should not only satisfy your appetite but also delight the other senses such as smell and visual. Surrounded by water, Fish plays a big part in the Japanese diet but don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s all the Japanese eat. While we are all familiar with the recent popularity of Sushi and Sashimi here in the US, many people don’t realize there are a lot of delicious recipes for beef in Japan as well.

The Japanese culture emphasizes pure clean flavors in its cooking. Spices are rarely used giving the diner a chance to enjoy the taste of the food itself without any interference of other flavorings. Influenced by Korean, Chinese and Buddhism, a meal will usually contain 5 different flavors and colors such as sweet, sour, spicy, bitter and salty. The colors included in this combination are yellow, black, white, green and red.

All of this is brought together to bring balance and harmony in an artistic display for the diner. Food is meant to be enjoyed slowly in the Japanese kitchen. As you go through our recipes you will notice that most of them are meant to be cooked at the table giving mealtime more of a community style of eating.

In the sixteenth century the Portuguese and the Dutch played a part in their cuisine by introducing frying. You can see that influence in Tempura which is a technique of deep fat frying Vegetables and Fish or Meat in a light batter. So why are we talking about Japan when we concentrate on beef recipes in this column?

Simple the pure clean cooking of Japan has resulted in some very delicious Beef dishes that you can try at home.

Beef is highly prized in Japan. Two of the famous breeds of cattle that Japan produce are Kobe Beef and Waygu. World famous as being very tender but it is difficult to find Kobe or Waygu beef in the US. Painted Creek Black Angus makes a wonderful substitute if you decide to venture out and try some of these Japanese Dishes.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief synopsis of Japanese cooking. Try some of the recipes I've included for you. Write us and let us know how they came out. As always keep love in your heart and it will show in your cooking!

Note: All ingredients can be found either in your local grocery under the International section or at an Asian grocery. Dashi is a Fish soup that can be made by using instant soup mix. Mirin is rice vinegar.

Shabu Shabu

Servings 2, Cooking Times: 1 hour

Shabu Shabu is Japanese hot pot and is usually cooked at the table. Use an electric wok if you have one or a fondue pot. The beef should be sliced very thin. When slicing your beef freeze it for an hour to help you slice it as thin as you can without shredding it.

Ingredients:

3 inches dried kombu (kelp)
1 lb. hakusai (Chinese cabbage), chopped
1/4 lb. negi, (scallion) diagonally and thinly sliced
1 block hard tofu, cut into bite-size pieces
1 enoki mushroom, cut in half
1/4 lb. carrot, cut into thin round slices
1 1/2 lb. sirloin beef, very thinly sliced

Preparation:

Fill a deep electric pan or a medium skillet two-thirds full with water. Soak kombu in the water for 30 minutes. Arrange the ingredients on a large plate. Set the electric pan, ingredients, and serving bowls with dipping sauce at the table. Heat the water and remove the kombu just before the water comes to a boil. Put a slice of beef in the boiling soup and swish it gently for a few seconds. Eat the meat, dipping in the sauce. Skim off any foam or impurities (aku) that rise to the surface as you repeat cooking and eating meat. Add other ingredients in the boiling soup and simmer for a few minutes. Eat them dipping in the sauce as well.

Dipping Sauce

6 Tbsp white sesame seeds
3 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 and 1/2 Tbsp soysauce
1/2 tsp grated garlic
1/2 cup dashi soup

Preparation:

Grind sesame seeds well. Pour mirin gradually over the sesame seeds, mixing together. Add sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in the sauce. Further, add grated garlic and mix well. Pour Dashi Stock gradually, stirring well.

Gyudon: Japanese Beef Bowl

Serves 4, Cooking time 30 min

Ingredients:

4 cups steamed rice
1 pound thinly sliced beef
1 onion
1 1/3 cup dashi soup
5 tbsps soy sauce
3 tbsps mirin
2 tbsps sugar
1 tsp sake
*benishoga (red ginger) for topping

Preparation:

Cook rice. Slice onion thinly. Cut beef into bite-sized pieces. Put Dashi, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake in a pan. Add onion slices in the pot and simmer for a few minutes. Add beef in the pan and simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot steamed rice in a deep rice bowl. Put the beef topping on the top of rice. Place some benishoga (red ginger) on the top if you would like.

Sukiyaki

4 servings Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 pound thinly sliced beef
A package of shirataki noodles (made from yam cakes) or cellophane noodles
7-8 shiitake mushrooms
1 block enoki mushrooms
1 medium negi (Scallion)
1/2 of a Chinese cabbage
1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu)

For sukiyaki sauce:

1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsps sake (Japanese rice wine)
5 tbsps sugar
3/4 cup water

For dipping: 4 eggs (Optional)

Preparation:

Cut all ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Arrange all ingredients on a large plate and place the plate at the table. Mix soy sauce, sake, sugar, and water to make sukiyaki sauce. Set an electric wok or a pan at the table. After this point, everything is done at the table as you eat. Heat a little oil in the pan. Fry some beef slices, then pour sukiyaki sauce in the pan. Add other ingredients when the sauce starts to boil. Simmer until all ingredients are softened. Dip the cooked sukiyaki into the raw, beaten eggs and begin to eat. As the liquid boils away, add more sukiyaki sauce.

Yakiniku Beef Recipe (Beef BBQ)

Servings 3, Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

3/4 lb beef loin, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp grated apple
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp grated garlic
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp white sesame seed

Preparation:

Mix apple, soy sayce, garlic, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a bowl. Marinate beef in the sauce for 30 minutes. Heat a large skillet on high heat and stir-fry the beef.

Grilled Teriyaki Beef
Serves 4, Cooking time: 2 hrs total
Ingredients:

4 beef steaks
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tsp fresh ginger juice
1 glove garlic

Preparation:
Mix soy sauce, mirin, fresh ginger juice, and sliced garlic. Marinate beef in the mixture for one hour. Brush vegetable oil on the grill and grill steaks on both sides to desired temperature. Serve the steaks on a platter and pour the sauce over them.

Nikujaga: Japanese Beef Stew
(Courtesy of Epicurious.com)

Serves 4, Cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup dashi
½ cup sake
1 bunch scallions, white parts trimmed and greens sliced
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
12 (1 1/2-inch) small boiling potatoes (1 lb)
2 large carrots (1 lb)
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Prepare beef:

Pat beef dry. Heat oil in a 5-quart heavy pot until hot but not smoking and brown beef on all sides. Add dashi, sake, and white parts of scallions and simmer, covered, skimming froth and turning beef occasionally, until meat is very tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. (Check periodically and add a few tablespoons water if beef becomes less than half submerged.) Add sugar and simmer, covered, 15 minutes longer (more liquid may evaporate at this point, but that's fine)

Prepare vegetables while beef is simmering:

Peel potatoes, halving and trimming into ovals if large, and steam, covered, over boiling water until barely tender, about 10 minutes.
Cut carrots crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Trim slices with a paring knife to create rounded edges. Steam carrots, covered, over boiling water until barely tender, about 7 minutes.

Finish stew:

Add carrots and potatoes to beef and simmer, tossing occasionally, 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add soy sauce and bring to a boil. Discard white parts of scallions. Serve stew in small bowls sprinkled with scallion greens