Draft of Caesars Palace International cookbook, Japanese meats

MEAT page 58 Japanese meats TEPPAN YAKE GRILLED STEAK,CHICKEN AND LOBSTER Ever since I spent many months in Japan helping to set up the Jap-anese food pavillion for the New York World's Fair in 1964, I have been anxious to see more Americans explore the cuisine of Japan and its art of making dining a visual pleasure. I remembered the infinite care, almost reverence, with which the chefs prepared raw fish for Sashimi? the enjoyment of sitting around a horseshoe-shaped Tempura counter and watching each feathery-light Tempura item reach deep-fried perfection. I recalled standing up at Sushi bars where I was not only the tallest but the only white-haired man eating the vinegared rice and seafood in great variety ? eating them as if there was no tomorrow. And I remember floating out of Yakitori shops where the tantalizing aroma of marinated chicken livers and chicken kebobs grilled on skewers over charcoal spurred me on to eat hugely of the elegant morsels, not to mention sipping large glasses of steaming Sake and tiny cups of green tea with which I washed them down. Naturally I desired to duplicate some of these exotic foods at home. So I kept suggesting to management at Caesars Palace that a Japanese room would make a charming addition to the existing restaurants. MEAT page 59 Japanese meats Teppan yaki grilled steak, chicken and lobster cont 2 And when the magnificent Ah So restaurant was opened in 1970 I was happy that diners would get to sample this delicate, ages-old style of cookery, I had studied hundreds of menus from Japan, devised the special individual stainless-steel Teppan Yaki table grills, selected the handsome china and hired the Oriental personnel. The Ah So has been successful beyong all expectations. I know that there is a special In the Ah So, delight in foods artfully arranged and cooked at the table. Bach group of diners sits around the grill and has its own chef. More and more diners at the Ah So tell me they want to try a , Teppan Yaki dinner in their own dining rooms or patios. Appetite is marvelously whetted, they realize, by the aromas, sights and special methods of preparing food. Here is where the Japanese have something uni ue to teach Americans. For they have long known that feeding the eyes is a important as feeding the stomach. So a meal is regarded as an aesthetic experience and so it is that small amounts of food are exquisitely arranged on carefully chosen individual plates. No detail of color or arrangement is overlooked. Teppan Yaki means a mode of cookery ? Teppan for the "sheet of iron"set over charcoal and Yaki means broiling. In the Ah So restaurant we serve one complete dinner which the home cook can re-create, possibly not completely because of our special cooking e uipment, but still in a highly satisfying manner. MEAT page ?? 6 0 Japanese meats Teppan yaki grilled steak, chicken and lobster cont 3 Recipes are given for the Zensai or chicken liver appetizer; 2 Japanese exotic soups, Miso Shiru (Xapanese vegetable soup with beans and Sumashl (clear broth of chicken with long rice)j Tempura (seafoods and vegetables covered with a light batter and prepared in oil of sesame)y and Sunomomo (salad of marinated cucumbers with shredded crabmeat) elsewhere in this book. See index for paging. In the following recipes I hope you will learn to make the Teppan Yaki main course which consists of Niwatori (boneless breast of grilled chicken)? Gyunlku (prime sirloin steak)? Ise Ebi (baby lobster meat)t 2 dipping sauces to accompany them? and Yasai (an assortment of Japanese vegetables. Steamed rice, Japanese style (see recipe, page ? ) , Ocha,(green tea ) and hot Sake (rice wine) are also served. For dessert there is Kudamono (fresh fruit) and De Sato (a choice of special ice creams. Properly speaking, the Japanese do not serve desserts after meals except for fresh fruit. A beautiful tangerine or orange, divided like a grapefruit or sculpted into fantastic form? a perfect small bunch of grapes in season, melon slice or a Japanese steamed egg custard with chestnuts, called Chawan Mushi,(see recipe, page ?)may be served as dessert. Generally, plain boiled rice and pickles terminate most dinners. But because Americans love desserts I have added ginger ice cream or Oriental orange-chocolate, which we have made for us. With green tea it is the perfect ending to a memorable ( MEAT PAGE <*E 61 Japanese meats Teppan yaki grilled steak, chicken and lobster cont 4 new frontier in culinary adventure. And one you can learn to create. Possibly an entire dinner in the delightful and ancient art of Teppan Yaki as we prepare it in the Ah So may be too taxing for the home cook. Three separate foodstuffs in the main course and Tempura may be too much to prepare. In that case omit the Tempura and use only steak or chicken or lobster. As you become more experienced, you can add other main courses. Timing is most important. For a Teppan Yaki dinner is one that you cook right now to eat right now. It cannot be prepared earlier and V reheated. Experiment on your family before trying it for guests. And, although I have given the ingredients to serve 6, I urge you to prepare it fdirst for 2, then graduate to 4 and 6. And soon you will have the necessary experience to carry off a dinner which will shower you with compliments. Innately I suppose I am a show-off? I iove to be in the spotlight cooking before people.For a creative cook enjoys preparing food as well as feasting on it. And every night when my captains or I in the Bacc-hanal prepare Steak Diahann (Diane) Carroll at tableside or Crepes Suzette, there is a ritual to it. When it is done expertly, with full attention to every detail, guests are enthralled. And now to the details of preparing a Teppan Yaki main course. WHAT UTENSILS TO USE: ?I Some well-stocked Oriental shops carry genuine Teppans ? flat, rectangular, heavy iron plate which are used to grill steak, fish and1 vegetables Teppan Yaki style. However, a very large heavy iron griddle MEAT page 62 Japanese meats Teppan yaki, etc cont 5 is a very effective substitute. This, or an old-fashioned cast iron skillet (largest you c m find), placed over an electric table stove or over a hibachi or barbecue grill containing charcoal out in the patio will do very well. A regular elecxtric skillet, useful for cooking many Japanese dining table specialties, will not work for Teppan Yaki because the foods, after searing, must be cut on the grill. The bottom of the electric skillet is too fragile for this and will be damaged. A large stainless steel mixing bowl makes an excellent cover for steaming the bean sprouts. It can be made by drilling a hole in the center tnd inserting a knob and is useful equipment in the kitchen, high-domed The lid of a/chicken fryer may be used also. Aiizingzedie JAPANESE INGREDIENTS AND SEASONINGSs All ingredients and seasonings for the full Teppan Yaki dinner may col obnei esf ouinnd lianr gfec hcHixtSiKepsx;K BmKaKn yO rineencteasls amray rkseutpsp lineesa r iJn aptahnee sJea paanned seC hisnece-s\e ? \ tlons of supermarkets in urban centers and in special gourmet shops carry Y ing imported foods. Failing that, on page ? a list of suppliers in major around t$re country is given. Sake, Japanese rice wine, may generally be obtained in liqu<br stores in cities. If you can't find Mir in (sweet co?k~ ing Sake, substitute Sauterne or Sherry wine. But too much substitution isn't advised. Our seasoning, we admit, isn't axactly authentic Japanese. When ? you are running a successful restaurant you must consider the tastes \\ (< ?\ MEAT Page 63 Japanese meats Teppan yaki, etc cont 6 of the local diners. If, for instance, I were running a Japanese rest-would ? tuarant in Mexico City I/have to season the foods to coincide with Mexican tastes ? add a little dash of Tobasco or other hot seasoning. Japanese So/dried fish powder, seaweed or raw fish is too foreign to the American palate and would not please 85 per cent of the patrons. For seasoning the main course of the Teppan Yaki dinner ? chicken breast, lobster and prime sirloin steak ? I have made up a secret combination of seasonings. Frankly, I did not want to give away this personal trade secret, but I finally relented because I want your Japanese dinner to be perfect. The secret, which had to be pridd from me, is a simple one. Mix 1/4 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG0), called Aj-i-moto in Japanese markets and sold under a variety of trade names in supermarkets, with 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, not garlic ( salt, and fill the red of teaspoon with common salt. Make up as many teaspoons as you like, stir well in a bowl and pour in salt shaker. Ordinarily we prefer fresh garlic and do not use garlic powder but in our Teppan Yaki we feel th it garlic powder gives a more even application. OTHER SUPPLIES; In a Japanese poem there is a j-siHxufcsxH criticism of European food: "Every blasted plate is round." For the Japanese serve in china bowls or lac uer trays carefully chosen for shape and clor to suit the food that goes into them. Still, I would not urge the housewife to rush out and buy a supply of the charming tableware though it does add