Barometers are dishes that exist in every cuisine that one can try to see if the cook knows what they are doing. San Francisco judges a taqueria (perhaps misguidedly), on the carne asada burrito.
I've found that Cantonese cooking has an important barometer: Beef Chow Fun.
Every restaurant does beef chow fun, and every restaurant uses the same ingredients, probably from the same supplier - that's what makes it an important guideline, there is a wealth of controls to the test. The preparation, from what I can decern, is simple; cook beef, add noodles, toss and serve. Its a simple dish that anyone can do but few can do well; there is a technique which is acquired through practice. The beef is cooked first 80% of the time, so reheating before service requires knowing the time between tender and rubber, you can get that down in a day and there is no excuse for rubbery beef. It's when the noodles come in where the problems start.
Chow-Fun noodles are flat and thin, a perfect beef chow fun has long, unbroken noodles that are evenly coated in the sauce (the difference between dry and wet chow fun is the amount of sauce, obviously) and not sticking together. It's all about timing and not touching the noodles, an inexperienced cook will throw the noodles in and toss them around, breaking them; or, terrified of breaking the noodles will let them sit unmolested creating a sticky mass, there is a balance of gentle tossing and cooking time that any good cantonese chef has down to a second nature.
I've found that Cantonese cooking has an important barometer: Beef Chow Fun.
Every restaurant does beef chow fun, and every restaurant uses the same ingredients, probably from the same supplier - that's what makes it an important guideline, there is a wealth of controls to the test. The preparation, from what I can decern, is simple; cook beef, add noodles, toss and serve. Its a simple dish that anyone can do but few can do well; there is a technique which is acquired through practice. The beef is cooked first 80% of the time, so reheating before service requires knowing the time between tender and rubber, you can get that down in a day and there is no excuse for rubbery beef. It's when the noodles come in where the problems start.
Chow-Fun noodles are flat and thin, a perfect beef chow fun has long, unbroken noodles that are evenly coated in the sauce (the difference between dry and wet chow fun is the amount of sauce, obviously) and not sticking together. It's all about timing and not touching the noodles, an inexperienced cook will throw the noodles in and toss them around, breaking them; or, terrified of breaking the noodles will let them sit unmolested creating a sticky mass, there is a balance of gentle tossing and cooking time that any good cantonese chef has down to a second nature.
No comments:
Post a Comment