Note: apologies to my vegetarian friends.
I love meat. I can’t help it. I blame my Dad (sorry, Faja Man) for this, since Mom doesn’t really eat meat. Seafood is great, but until recently (say, the last 5 years), neither me nor Dad have been able to get through a meal on seafood and veggies alone. Seafood at home? Add a fried egg. Chicken? A little bit better. Pork? Now we’re starting to talk. But the ultimate meal for this meatlover and her Dad? Beef.
*drool*
Stir-fried beef with broccoli (it makes the broccoli eatable), sloppy Joes, burgers, roast beef…mmmm…there’s just something amazing about that beefy flavour.
Over the years, I’ve learned that different cuts of meat have a different concentration of flavour. Tenderloin is delicate and responds well to sauces. Blade roasts and chuck have a lot of connective tissue - which when you cook slowly, melts and produces a LOT of flavour (as the Food Network chefs say, fat = flavour). Brisket is a tougher cut of meet, but again, also flavourful. Bones are awesome for soups and stocks – especially ox tail.
Not only do I find the taste of ox tail comforting, it reminds me of when I was a kid. Growing up, my Popo (maternal grandmother) used to make ox tail soup all the time. Sometimes it was tomato-based, but more often than not, there was a healthy handful of Chinese herbs added to the mix. Either way, I loved it. Why? Because the taste is rich, warm and entirely delicious.
I’ve tried making ox tail at home – in soups, similar to what Popo made – or as a dish on its own. The rich beefy flavour of ox tail holds up to so many herbs and spices. It is a tougher cut of meat, so for home cooks like me, this means braising and breaking out the slow-cooker (which, btw sucks energy like there’s no tomorrow). But the taste is SO worth it.
(You can get ox tail at Chinese supermarkets like T&T – beware the weekend rush though. Actually, if you go on the weekend, it’s entirely at your own peril).
However, there are times where I’m just plain lazy (I have been known to have popcorn mashed into plain yogurt for dinner…a lazy person’s take on cereal and yogurt). And yes, though it is rare (not many places serve ox tail), there are alternatives.
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| Ox tail on rice (Photo credit: JL) |
I recently came across George’s Tastee Foods (I visited the store in Richmond Hill, at 9021 Leslie Street). And yes, they serve ox tail over rice (and other yummy things like beef and vegetable patties, but this post is all about the beef). And yes, it is delicious. The beefy flavour is awesome and the gravy that it’s served with? Mmmmm….perfect with the rice, but also amazing with all kinds of bread. The Faja Man and I are fans.
It’s a simple dish, but oftentimes, simple things are the best. And yes, it DOES satisfy the meet craving.
(Note: Oddly enough, I don’t eat lamb.)
Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.
