Gourmanda’s Inaugural Dish—Hibachi Chicken from Bisuteki in Revere
Ok, so I know this site is about haute cuisine and shiz, but this was really where the inspirado came from so I had to go with it. ‘Kay?
My first foray into the world of copycat cuisine seemed innocuous enough-- hibachi. You know, those restaurants where knife-wielding ninjas turn simple veggies and meat into a yum-tastic dinner-show of epic proportions? It seemed so easy-- first off, they cook right in front of you, so the ingredients aren't even a question. Secondly-- who doesn't want to go nuts with a Ginsu?
After my last visit to Bisuteki in Revere, where I took detailed notes on my iPhone much to the dismay of the underwhelmed table-side cook, I went all Iron Chef and sliced up some deliciousness.
What you need:
2 med. zucchini
2 med. summer squash
2 yellow onions
a few tablespoons of soy Sauce
1 lemon
4 TB of softened butter mixed with a ½ tsp ginger
sesame seeds, salt and pepper to taste
1 lb chicken breasts
served with white rice
First, I got my biggest sauté pan and cranked it to eleven—er—hot. Then I threw down about half of the butter and chopped the hell out of the veggies until they were thumb-sized. I know, I used the words “chop” and “thumb” in the same sentence—get over it. Then slice up the onion and chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Next, throw the veggies and onion into the pan and scorch it up for about a minute. Next, scoot them to the side and add the chicken. Cook until it won’t give you salmonella—about 5 minutes, stirring and flipping.
Now you bring the flava’—and dear lord I don’t mean Flave, cause that’s gotta taste awful—add the soy sauce and squeeze the bejeez’ out of the lemon onto your colorful mélange of goodness.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sesame seeds and serve over sticky rice.
How did it turn out? Oishii. My regrets, however, were two-fold. Firstly-- what the hell are in the two dipping sauces they served there? Next time, I need to find this out. They add a zesty little pop to the dish and I really want to say “zesty” at the table, so getting the recipe for those is on my growing to-do list. Also, because I don't have a burning-hot metal cooktop (I know, I'm behind the times), my simple pan didn't get sufficiently hot to cook the veggies quickly enough to retain the semi-snappy texture. Mine were mooshfest, but it was still om-to-the-nom delicious.
So, if you decide to meet Chairman Gourmanda’s challenge—sorry about two Iron Chef references in one article—please comment and tell us what you thought.
And by us I mean me.
Happy thoughts and safe knife-play,
Gourmanda
