by Jerome Foo

Created on: January 30, 2007   Last Updated: May 17, 2007

Steak.

For everyone, that word conjures some memories, some good, and some bad. I've cooked a lot of them and eaten a lot of them in my time but, it took a trip to Kobe, Japan for me to truly appreciate how a steak should be cooked. Let me give you a bit of background...

In North America, everything is sterilized, overcooked and over-seasoned. Steak is no exception. I can't count the number of time's I've heard people ask for a well done steak- I myself was one of these people until a few years ago. I would always order a steak 'well done' and tire out my jaw by chewing on the dry, black piece of muscle that arrived on my plate. And fat? I would always try to get the leanest piece of meat. Basically, what I would end up having was a large piece of beef jerky. The flavour of the meat was always covered by a fancy cream truffle blue cheese wine sauce", which added immeasurable amounts of calories. I thought this was how it was supposed to be.

But now, I have seen the light.

To make a long story of culinary discovery short, fast forward to "Steak Land (yes, that is the actual name of the restaurant, well deserved too)" just outside of Sannomiya station in central Kobe. As one might ascertain from the name, it is a restaurant specializing in beef. Chef's stand behind their "teppan (hot iron griddles)", ready for your order. Being the foodie that I am, I order the most expensive set possible- actually it was much cheaper than I thought it would be (~30$ at lunch, but $100+ for dinner) and sit back to watch them work.

The piece of beef is marbled beyond any expectation I have. Even the best AAA Canadian beef doesn't compare. But the difference is, the marbling is very fine- the fat is distributed equally throughout the meat, rather than in a few streaks. This, of course is a result of the massaging and beef-feeding given to the cattle. And, of course, the reason for the exorbitant pricing.

Now, on to the actual cooking. To my surprise, the only ingredients they use in the actual cooking process of the steak are- butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Using only these ingredients, the flavour of the beef is allowed to come to the forefront and enhanced, rather than being smothered and overwhelmed. When asked for my preference of doneness, I ask the chef for his recommendation medium rare. First, the butter is melted on the hot plate, and in effect turned into garlic butter by frying some thinly sliced garlic chips. Then the garlic chips are removed and the steak, seasoned

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