Food Revue

sesame sesame sesame....

Here goes a stab (pun intended) at what makes meat juhn so good. The short answer is “thousands of years.” The not-so-obvious long answer is “it depends.”
The long road from the sign on the restaurant door to our expectant palate is partially paved by cooks from hell so...here are some possibilities:

Secret #1: sesame oil has a high smoke point and low tendency to go rancid. In open-pan frying, this translates to “not burnt and tastes great.”
Secret#2: thin sliced meat requires less time to cook (duh). We all want more food, but the bang for your buck here is in the fresh taste.
Secret#3: shoyu marinade of the meat can be a deciding factor. America and Japan likes Kikkoman (drifting away from authentic Korean here), sesame oil (again?), and sugar. Marination is all about taste and tenderizing, so other fresh ingredients may include minced onion and garlic, toasted sesame seeds(again??) or whatever defines you.
Secret#4: Ok here's the kicker: the meat is wet so you want a dry breading(flour) and a beaten egg dredge (like french toast), then... into the hot sesame oil skillet. This thousands-of-years lesson of water-and-oil spattered cooks has given us the yumminess of “crispy on the outside.”

As you can see, so much can go all to wrong with this dish, but in the right hands, it will have you asking yourself this: “Was I ready for that great taste?” Enjoy!