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Peking Duck (Lacquered Roast Duck with Pancakes)
A whole duck scalded to tighten the skin, painted with maltose water, dried for a day and then roasted, so the skin shatters like glass inside a thin pancake. The crispness comes from the drying, not the roasting β with moisture left on the surface, no oven setting saves it from turning to leather.
Huoguo (Sichuan Mala Hot Pot)
The Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot: a red broth built by frying doubanjiang and whole spices slowly in beef fat, then used to cook whatever you dip in it. Frying the bean paste long and gently without scorching it, and adding the peppercorns last, are what keep the heat and the numbing separate.
Shabu-shabu (Beef Swished in Kelp Broth)
Thin-sliced beef swished for five to ten seconds in a clear kelp broth and dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce. The broth is held at 85-95Β°C rather than boiled, which is why what is left in the pot at the end is the best stock of the meal.
Gyukatsu (Breaded Beef Cutlet, Rare Inside)
A thick piece of beef in breadcrumbs, fried at 180Β°C for barely a minute so the crust crisps while the centre stays rare. Short in the oil, long on the rack is the whole method β and it is a method for whole cuts of beef only.
Taiyaki (Fish-Shaped Cake with Red Bean Filling)
A Japanese street sweet: sponge batter poured into a fish-shaped iron, filled with sweet red bean paste and baked on both sides. Chilling the paste so it cannot spread inside the batter, and standing the cakes on a rack rather than laying them flat, are what keep the outside from going damp.
Takoyaki (Octopus Batter Balls with Sauce and Bonito)
Osaka street food: a batter loosened almost to the thinness of water with dashi, poured over boiled octopus and rolled in a dimpled pan. The batter has to be that thin for the centre to set like custard, and each ball is turned 90 degrees twice rather than flipped once, or the shell tears before it rounds.
Sukiyaki (Beef Hot Pot in Sweet Soy Broth)
Thin-sliced beef simmered with leek, tofu and mushrooms in warishita β soy sauce, mirin and sugar β then dipped in raw egg. No water goes in, so the broth is what the ingredients release, and the beef comes out within about thirty seconds: those two things are what keep it a hot pot rather than a stew.
Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Dipping Sauce)
Buckwheat noodles boiled, washed in cold water, drained on a bamboo tray and dipped into chilled tsuyu. Rubbing the surface starch off the cooked noodles under cold water, and having the tsuyu made and cold in advance, are what let the buckwheat itself come through.
Cheonggukjang (Fast-Fermented Soybean Stew)
A stew built on soybeans fermented for only two or three days, left whole in the pot β deeper and far more pungent than doenjang jjigae. The paste goes in last and is barely simmered, and the broth must be seasoned before it does, because cheonggukjang is salty and there is no taking it back.
Dak-gangjeong (Sweet Crispy Glazed Fried Chicken)
Boneless chicken dredged in potato starch alone, fried twice, then tossed off the heat in a soy-and-syrup glaze that was reduced beforehand, and finished with crushed peanuts. Starch instead of flour, and a glaze reduced before the chicken meets it, are what keep it crisp as it cools.
Ganjang-gejang (Raw Blue Crab Cured in Soy Sauce)
Live blue crab cured β not cooked β in a soy brine that has been boiled and then chilled completely. The brine goes on cold and is re-boiled once after a couple of days, and only marine blue crab is used, never freshwater crab. Read the safety notes first.
Jokbal (Soy-Braised Pig's Trotters)
Pig's trotters braised for two hours in soy sauce and spices until the skin turns to gelatin, then cooled and sliced thin. Slice it hot and it falls apart, so it has to go cold first β and the star anise and cinnamon must stay sparing or it tastes medicinal.