[ Barbecue]

eat meat

In barbecue season,

I miss Sita,

That's the Chinese barbecue ceiling

The birthplace of "Old Lady Sita".

At this time, a plate of Sita roast meat and a handsome guy were placed on the table and asked me to choose. Guess, I would choose... When many people met Fu Jiajun, the head manager of the "Old Lady of Sita" for the first time, they were all "handsome guys" in their minds. However, my "potential" was limited, and my mind was all about Sita's barbecue.

Anyone who has been to West Tower will understand my problem. At the beginning of the lanterns, the oil flowers of meat awaken in the sunset clouds, lifting up the small sparks in the air and dancing black lantern. That is Sita's unique perfume, which tempts every greedy heart that sees meat.

The Story of Sita

If I were a headline party, I would definitely write "The Sentiment Story of West Tower". In fact, the true story of what happened in West Tower is not gorgeous, but it is so fragrant.

Old West Tower (Photo source: Internet)

"More than ten years ago, when my father was a child, Koreans came to West Tower for weekends. There were food, drink and fun here in West Tower. That was the place where Koreans gathered. Including air tickets and accommodation, it was cheaper than local consumption. Northeast China always eats a lot of meat, but the south does not eat beef. In the north, beef and mutton are the easiest to buy. Barbecue production is convenient, and Northeast China developed in the early stage and has a large labor force. Barbecue is the most convenient and fast. The weather in Northeast China is cold and protein is needed to keep out the cold." President Fu said.

There are four towers built around Shenyang City, and a Lama monastery is built next to each tower. "Yanshou Temple" is also called the "West Tower" because it is in the west. The custom of hospitality adopted by Shenyang people is not to "walk one person at the table" as southerners think, but to the long-standing custom of going to Xita for the first and last meals. Otherwise, according to Shenyang people's saying: "That's because I didn't invite my friends to eat well." Zhang Yifan, the behind-the-scenes investor, said with a smile: This is how I was taken care of and fell in love with barbecue. I do the same to every foreign friend when I go to Northeast China now. As a native of Hangzhou, I think the barbecue culture in Northeast China is much more magical than the accent in Northeast China!

The Xita area is not so much a gathering place for Koreans, but more a carnival night for barbecuers. Old Northeastern people love to go to "Xita" to eat barbecue, and also love to meet the "Old Lady of Xita", the Queen Mother of the barbecue. She is indeed a person, and is now over her 80s.

There is the story of Old Lady Sita in the famous food documentary "Night in Jianghu". Fu Jiajun still talks about it, but he still has nostalgia in his eyes: "This brand is known to locals in Shenyang. My father started eating it when he was a child and has been eating it for more than 30 years."

"Most of us don't know much about Korean culture. There are many Korean people in the Xita area, and they were all defectors from the North. Just like that night, when the wind and snow were heavy, a man came on a bicycle and bought 20 strings. The old lady said, it's past 11 o'clock, who eats? He said, Poor old lady, she bought it for you. Difficulties are blessings in the future, experiences from difficult to easy, and the transformation of hardship and sweetness." I thought of "Nothing to Envy", a life record story about North Korean defectors that I had read a long time ago, and I vaguely guessed some subtexts. Many "defectors" go into hiding and try their best to start a new life.

There is a saying that "Chinese barbecue looks at Shenyang, Shenyang barbecue looks at Xita." Ever since I went to the old lady's place in Xita, Shenyang, and heard people say this arrogant saying again, I can only nod.

Fu Jiajun said: "The first episode of the food documentary" Late Night Night Jianghu "was Shenyang. I went to shoot the Xita Old Lady's Charming Shop." Real beauty will not fade! Every time I think of Shenyang's "West Tower", the way I look at people can have a Maillard reaction, and the aroma is overflowing!

Her name is Li Lianhua, of Korean nationality, and she is the living sign of the Xita Old Lady's skewer shop. Now, the nearly 80-year-old woman is still guarding the store in Shenyang Xita.

"The old lady is in the West Tower. She sells her own skewers. When she is nearly 50 years old, she starts making barbecues. Other people have night snack stalls and finish work until seven or eight o'clock, but she always has to rush to 12 o'clock. Many customers came after Grandma Li and had been eating on the roadside for decades. In the past, there were many Koreans and Xian people, but now all kinds of people who like to eat barbecue have to check in. The old lady has already roasted from a roadside stall to a midnight snack shop for ten people."

Fu Jiajun's parents continued to eat food from the time they fell in love until he was born, and now they have become family culture. A few years ago, by chance, he had a communication with the founder of Sita to discuss whether "this flavor" could be spread. As a result, Old Mrs. Sita traveled across China with a stove and fragrance to the south, where Shanghai was before, and now Hangzhou.

At this time, I was sitting in the shop in Xita, eating the meat roasted by President Fu with gusto and muttering: "President Fu, what I roast may not be as good as yours."

"We are all prepared. Whoever grills will have delicious meat." He said confidently.

I later learned that if barbecue was a delicious art, the artists in Naxita had already asked diners to complete the art in advance before eating it.

The secret of barbecue

"Then tell me the secret of barbecue?"
"You have to force me to say something. The chef who cuts the meat must choose the most expensive one, haha ~"

This sounds like a joke, but it is actually the truth. There is a saying in folk stoves: "Cut the cattle and sheep horizontally and cut the chicken, and cut the pork and fish obliquely," but this is just a floor effort. In Japanese sushi restaurants, in fact, an old master has taught an apprentice to come out of the mountain for decades, and the most important thing is "cutting" skills. Florencio, a Spanish national treasure meat cutter, charges 30,000 yuan per hour for slicing ham.

There are many particular points to cutting beef. For example, in order to prevent the hard parts of ordinary beef from becoming stuck after cooking and eating, experienced chefs have to use a meat patter or the back of the knife to pat the fibers loose, or use the tip of the knife to cut off the tendons. Insert the knife at a right angle to soften the beef.

The "steak" parts, which seem to have no technical content at all, also have many processing details! Generally, when we eat steak, we use rib eye roll (also called naked eye), tender loin (also called filet) and strip loin (also called sirloin). These three pieces are listed as the highest grade beef. The rib-eye meat is on the back and shoulders of the cow. It has fine fiber and good meat quality. It is the softest part. This is the part we usually eat steaks.

The front waist tenderloin is actually next to the eye meat. It is in the middle of the back of the cow. The snowflake beef we usually eat comes from this position. It was once awarded the title of "sir" by the King of England and is the top part. Because this place is rich in fat, you need to make steak thinner. Our exercise metabolic habits are different from those in Europe and the United States. If we don't mix wine reasonably, too much "grease" means that the mouth is greasy, and then the stomach is not digested.

The loin loin meat has less fat, but the muscle fibers are also relatively delicate. It is suitable for roasting or frying. It is the favorite part of the Japanese. Cut the thickest part of the loin fillet into thick slices and fry in oil. This is the "Chateaubriand steak" written by the French novelist. This is also the top spot for personal feedback from Asian gourmets.

Sita old lady's best snowflake meat

The beef parts are called differently in each place. Mrs. Sita's best snowflake meat actually refers to this part of the "Châteaubrion steak". It contains little fat and is soft and sweet enough. I saw that the skillful President Fu gently baked it and immediately left the fire and said,"Eat quickly."

I eat "He Beef" in Japan, while in South Korea, Korean Beef is the best choice. When I go to Sita, I eat local beef in Northeast China. President Fu said that from his picky ancestors eating it, he found that the buffalo meat popular in the south was not as good as the beef meat in the northeast. "Now that logistics is developed, fresh Shenyang beef can be purchased as soon as possible, which can meet our roasting standards."

Like Chaoshan Beef Shop, President Fu said that the highest wage in each Xita Roast Shop is the meat cutter. In the shop, the five-flower beef and five-flower pork are sliced with a thin slice machine, and the rest are cut purely by hand. "Moreover, even if we have the same meat, we are better than others because our meat cutting skills are more professional. The purpose is that for the same piece of beef, even if everyone uses the same kind, they must give full play to their greatest advantage in the meat cutting process. Like beef ribs, our master knows how to cut them according to their special beef grain to ensure that they are satisfied with the taste and chewing."

In addition to being dazzled, I also recorded down the cutting skills of several characteristic parts.

Secret beef five flowers

"Niu Wuhua" is accurately said to be the abdominal meat, but it is actually the abdominal meat located near the cow's ribs. It is famous for its rich taste. "Niu Wuhua" is responsible for breathing and exercise. It has thick fibers, a lot of fat, and a lot of fascia. Skilled stores will resist the meat fibers and remove the fascia at the same time to maximize the advantages of the meat.

The meat between the ribs in the middle of the abdominal rib meat is called "ribs". Chinese people have a special liking for the aroma of the meat between the bones.

Secret rolled beef ribs

In the same way, on pigs, Old Mrs. Sita's treatment method is basically the same as Niu Wuhua, removing excess fascia and selecting those with meat "snowflakes" that give more barbecue satisfaction. The chef processes this into thin slices and makes it crispy after baking. This is a very popular part of meat shops in South Korea and is called "galbi" in Korean.

Special Flavor Pig Five Flowers

The diaphragm is the most suitable part for charcoal roasting. It is attached to the inside of the abdominal cavity. The chef gently breaks the connective tissue with a slanting knife. The diaphragm is part of the internal organs, and the thicker part can also be used to make steak. It has moderate fat and has a soft and tender taste. It looks like an ox five flowers, but compared to it, the diaphragm has lower calories.

Old lady sita has a heavy diaphragm

The burning temperature of charcoal is high, and 300 ° C can instantly denature the protein on the surface, thus locking in the rich juice inside the meat.

I put the old lady's specialty fat beef, specialty fat and lean, top-quality snowflake beef, heavy diaphragm, sauce diaphragm, secret rolled beef ribs, secret beef five-flower, special pork five-flower, secret pork chops, tender tofu soup... I ate everything. After all, friends in Beijing and Shanghai told me at the same time that there was no way to queue up on their side.

Different from all meat: stove and dipping

"I usually eat very lightly by myself, and I don't need to dip it into hot pot. I can only cook steaks at home, fry good beef on both sides, and get used to 3 or 5 points. I only put salt."

"It's a matter of personal taste. Some merchants think that cutting raw meat is the best, but giving full play to the best taste of the meat is what should be done. Beef marinating is like this, not cover-up. The seasoning of Sita first retains the taste of beef, then blends the beef, and finally improves the overall taste. We are positioning ourselves as Korean barbecue. In my heart, I feel that no matter how big the barbecue is, it is barbecue. The form and method are the same. There is no distinction between Japanese and Korean. Mexico is another kind, which is the same for us. The main reason for good meat is to deal with the taste. The sauces and seasonings are different." In the face of my offense, President Fu answered easily.

Investor Zhang Yifan said: "When I was very young, my father wanted to open the barbecue shop in Hangzhou and was worried about whether southerners would accept it. After opening it, everyone agreed with the delicious food. The most important thing is sesame paste. So far, the southern customers we have received are still satisfied with our taste."

Mr. Fu grilled it leisurely and helped me introduce the details of the sauce: Almost all the seasonings and products used by "Old Lady Sita" are exclusive to Sita, including pickled meat ingredients and dipping meat. Dry plate. Sesang is an old brand in Northeast China.

"For the production of sesame paste, Xita uses white sesame seeds from Pingyu County, stir-fried and directly ground. It is the leading production area in the country, with few people, more land, and abundant sunshine. The black soil in the north is unique and is very good for the growth of white sesame seeds."

The specialty sesame paste in Northeast China is mixed with soy sauce and white vinegar. The soy sauce is refreshed, and the white vinegar can dissolve the solidified white sesame paste. The aroma immediately reached my nostrils!

President Fu told me that the sauce is different with the meat. In addition to sesame paste, there are three sauces (the rightmost plate in the picture, from left to right): barbecue sauce, suitable for pairing beef; barbecue sauce, suitable for pairing pork; dry dish chili powder, suitable for increasing the taste of various meats. There are also Korean spicy sauce and raw garlic cloves, suitable for those with heavy tastes.

"Sesame sauce is specially made with the old lady series, barbecue sauce is a universal sauce, and dry seasoning is not the traditional spicy. Chili peppers are different. They are not just dried peppers, but have a compound taste."

Old lady's characteristic fat and thin

Lao Taitai Special Fat Cattle

"More than 20 years ago, the old lady Li Lianhua encountered a wave of layoffs. As everyone says, she has been roasting since she was in her seventies. Because this shop has always made Korean kebabs with a lot of peppers. It's so red. When I eat it, I feel that it's not spicy, but spicy."

Local pepper in Xita (Photo source: Internet)

I only realized that the foundation for the old lady's Korean taste was the pepper formula that had always been kept secret. There are many varieties of local peppers in Xita, including slightly spicy, extra-spicy and non-spicy peppers with different aromas, tastes and durations. Mixed and finely ground, the proportion is mysterious. The finished peppers are often fragrant but not spicy. When roasting, sprinkle a small handful to create a paste aroma, and sprinkle another handful before baking to make a final conclusion.

"There is another very important special feature, in the mud stove. The Korean people in China have very similar eating habits to those of South Korea and North Korea. These are all spread from North Korea's eating habits. This is the oldest way in South Korea. The earliest batch of Korean barbecue culture was stoves made of loess and mud. The food baked over there also comes from the clay stove. The earliest things in Northeast China and South Korea used mud stoves to cook, which could lock in the temperature of the fire."

I have been to many countries that use earthen stove cooking, Greece, Italy... Arabian naan is also delicious only if it is made of earthen stoves. The charm lies in that the food in the fire pond is heated quickly and evenly, and it also saves energy perfectly!

The stoves of "Old Lady Sita" are all custom-made and have an air switch. When it is turned off, there is no oxygen in the air, and the temperature inside the stove drops. However, when it is turned on, the temperature inside the stove remains constant. In the past, the earthen stove was yellow, bright yellow or dark yellow, but Old Mrs. Sita made paint outside her stove. This comes from the fact that tradition is higher than tradition. The aroma, crispness, moisture, meat roasting time, and stove operation have all quietly changed. "This is different from the earliest ovens. It has design and wisdom in it, and the meat is especially delicious when roasted." President Fu said.

"In fact, the Koreans are no longer as conservative as they were in the impression. With the development of science and technology, they have absorbed many trendy things and hope to change their concepts through small designs."

Rock sugar strawberry (Photo source: Internet)

After eating the barbecue, I fell in love with Sita's royal dessert "Rock Sugar Strawberries". The strawberry meat itself was soaked in yellow peach juice. Children in the north like to dig out cans. Besides canned yellow peaches, canned strawberries are the second god.

This cold, crisp and sweet taste makes your tongue rest between every piece of hot roast meat. It is like a late winter night in the old days of the West Tower in Shenyang. Street travelers wrapped in tight coats and hurried. At this time, a warm red light shines over.

The goddess asked

Do you like grilled meat?

"Drink mellow wine,

Roast fat beef."

--Han Yuefu "Xi Men Xing"

Food Bless You!

Consultant for China International Food Expo

Producer of "God's Table"