How to eat the soup base of Chaoshan beef hot pot is generally clear soup, which accords with Chaoshan people's preference and pursuit of fresh diet concept! The soup base is usually beef bone soup, with one or two pieces of southern ginger, white radish and corn. When the soup is cooked to taste, the soup head is considered a great success. Before greeting relatives and friends to sit down and rinse beef, everyone should have a bowl of beef brisket and radish soup with celery foam. Celery foam is also a necessity!
The heat of beef hot pot is very important. The stove should be slow and the water should be kept boiling and bubbling, and then you can pick up a piece of beef or put a few pieces in a colander. The taste is best when the meat color changes slightly after three times. After picking it up, dip it in Chaoshan sand tea sauce, which is simply the enjoyment on the tip of your tongue.
The beef in Chaoshan is very particular. Although they are all live cattle imported from Sichuan and Guizhou, they are all raised locally and carefully selected and slaughtered according to gender, maturity and meat quality. Cattle commonly used in hot pot are tender cattle within three years, and the meat of bull is more suitable for making beef balls, while the meat of beef over three years is not so tender and smooth. From slaughterhouse to dining table, four hours is the best prime time for beef. During these four hours, some meat parts need to be hung in a ventilated and cool place, which is called "waking meat", while those parts such as Boren and Shiren need to be refrigerated.
How to treat Chaoshan beef in Shantou? Perhaps this problem does not exist, because shoddy goods are likely to lead to the failure of their own business. But now Chaoshan hot pot has spread all over the country, and many people eat it for the first time. They have no experience at all, and it is inevitable that businesses will get in the way. It doesn't matter, Chaoshan cuisine Zheng gave three ways to distinguish "how to distinguish the quality of beef":
Look at the color first. The muscles of fresh beef are even red and shiny, and the fat is white or milky yellow; The muscle color of the second piece of fresh meat is slightly darker, and the cut surface is still shiny, but the fat is dull; The muscle color of spoiled meat is dark red, dull and the fat color is dark; If the fat meat is green, it must be smelly.
Second, the sense of smell. Fresh beef has a natural and unique fishy smell, but it is very light, while stale beef smells sour.
Third, look at the feel. The surface of fresh beef is slightly dry or has an air-dried film, which does not stick to hands to the touch, and the depression can be recovered immediately after finger pressing; The surface of the second-grade fresh meat is dry or sticky, and the depression can not be fully recovered after finger pressing; The surface of deteriorated meat is extremely dry or sticky, and the depression cannot be recovered after finger pressing.
Why is Chaoshan beef hotpot hot? Chaoshan beef hotpot is nothing new. It has tried to break through geographical restrictions before, but failed. Why did it suddenly get hot in the past two years?
The first is the improvement of the industrial chain. In the past, it was difficult for big cities to meet the freshness requirements of Chaoshan beef hot pot from slaughter to delivery to stores. Now there are many Chaoshan beef hot pot restaurants in Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places, forming a fresh distribution chain to ensure the freshness of beef; In Beijing, some hot pot restaurants even raise cattle in the suburbs or Hebei, and they are transported to the store immediately after slaughter.
The second is the above-mentioned change in the taste of China population. More and more people in China are willing to pay for good ingredients, pursuing ancient methods that are silently adhered to, natural eating habits, and original flavor. And this is the true nature of many foods.