Look at yourself, you savage. Stabbing and pinching your meats like they insulted your mother. Those cubes of soon to be gingered pork used to be a living creature with feelings and whatever. The least you can do is treat it with a modicum of dignity. You need to get acquainted with saibashi, Japanese kitchen chopsticks. Not as clumsy and random as tongs, Saibashi are an elegant tool for a more civilized cook space.
Saibashi are different from regular chopsticks, or hashi, in two key points: length and material. Hashi are made of various materials and are generally not much longer than 20 cm (9 in), whereas saibashi are usually made of bamboo or wood and around twice as long as hashi. The heat-resistant bamboo/wood and added length make saibashi well suited for handling food during high-temperature operations such as frying and simmering. Tempura chefs can often be seen using saibashi to pluck their fried delicacies out of pots of scaldingly hot oil and gingerly plate them in Japanese fashion.
Use a pair of saibashi anytime you need to handle hot food both delicately and quickly. It's easy to switch from plucking to stirring to flipping with saibashi. Once you get comfortable with them, they function as an extension of your fingers.
Really, saibashi are just two wooden sticks with tapered points. The number of uses for such a simple tool are only limited by your imagination. Put a sponge on the end of it and you can use it to clean the inside of narrow bottles. Pinch the ends together and use it to squeeze toothpaste out of the tube. Hide all the metal tongs at your next barbecue and replace them with saibashi to prevent any buttinskies from taking over the grill. Sometimes I use mine to scratch my back.
You should be able to find saibashi anywhere Asian cooking supplies (woks, fancy Japanese knives, etc.) are sold. If not, or if you live in the middle of nowhere, Amazon.com is your friend. A solid pair of saibashi shouldn't cost you more than $5. I bought mine from a 100 yen store a year ago and they're still going strong. Get a pair with ridged tips to make handling slippery foods much easier.
Saibashi are different from regular chopsticks, or hashi, in two key points: length and material. Hashi are made of various materials and are generally not much longer than 20 cm (9 in), whereas saibashi are usually made of bamboo or wood and around twice as long as hashi. The heat-resistant bamboo/wood and added length make saibashi well suited for handling food during high-temperature operations such as frying and simmering. Tempura chefs can often be seen using saibashi to pluck their fried delicacies out of pots of scaldingly hot oil and gingerly plate them in Japanese fashion.
Use a pair of saibashi anytime you need to handle hot food both delicately and quickly. It's easy to switch from plucking to stirring to flipping with saibashi. Once you get comfortable with them, they function as an extension of your fingers.
Really, saibashi are just two wooden sticks with tapered points. The number of uses for such a simple tool are only limited by your imagination. Put a sponge on the end of it and you can use it to clean the inside of narrow bottles. Pinch the ends together and use it to squeeze toothpaste out of the tube. Hide all the metal tongs at your next barbecue and replace them with saibashi to prevent any buttinskies from taking over the grill. Sometimes I use mine to scratch my back.
You should be able to find saibashi anywhere Asian cooking supplies (woks, fancy Japanese knives, etc.) are sold. If not, or if you live in the middle of nowhere, Amazon.com is your friend. A solid pair of saibashi shouldn't cost you more than $5. I bought mine from a 100 yen store a year ago and they're still going strong. Get a pair with ridged tips to make handling slippery foods much easier.
About the Author:
There is a reason why Tokyo has more Michelin stars than Paris. Kitchens in Japan are a fascinating product of centuries of culinary heritage. If you want to learn more about Japanese Kitchens, recipes, and techniques, check out my blog at fareastcoastkitchen.com.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire