Four ways to eat your steak: Argentinian asado, Japanese yakiniku, bistecca alla Fiorentina and Spain’s rubia Gallega
- As if Hong Kong didn’t have enough steakhouses, Italian newcomer Associazione Chianti and Spanish addition Rubia have added to the choice for diners
- Italy likes its steaks huge and Spain beef that’s aged on the hoof; in Argentina it’s a meaty mixed grill, while Japanese like their meat thin and flash grilled
Steaks aren’t complicated. Get a good piece of beef, cook, eat. That’s essentially the recipe anywhere in the world where steak is enjoyed. Beyond that, different countries might have distinct preferences on cuts, condiments, the degree of rareness or doneness, and the taste of specific cattle breeds. How each culture eats steak says something about their values and identity.
In Hong Kong, one way to stand out from the herd of steakhouses is to specialise and focus on one country’s bovine culinary tradition.
Italy
Italian beef is synonymous with bistecca alla Fiorentina. The Tuscan speciality is basically a huge porterhouse, usually weighing between 1kg and 1.2kg (35oz-42oz), grilled over fire.
Bistecca is Italian for steak. The word supposedly originated during the Renaissance at a festive party thrown by the Medicis. Two English travellers were invited to partake and, upon seeing what was being served, exclaimed, “Ah, beef steak!” The locals liked the phonetics of it and “bistecca” was adopted.