Photo/Illutration Beef cheek simmered with lemon and herbs (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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From a hostess bar in Ginza and an ice cream shop in Mejiro to an eel restaurant in Higashikoenji and a coffee shop in Shimokitazawa, Kosei Ueno worked part time at a variety of places before graduating from a university.

He then started working in mass media.

“Although I loved to eat and cook, I never thought about turning food into a career,” he says.

In 1990, Ueno was working as an editor for an economic magazine when President Inc. launched the gourmet magazine dancyu.

About a year later, dancyu reached out to him, and Ueno began writing articles under the pen name Katsuta Oishi in his free time. The name was a play on “oishikatta,” meaning “that was delicious!”

In 2001, he moved to dancyu’s editorial department and began to immerse himself in food completely.

His interviews with different chefs made him realize something.

It’s said that the way to become a good cook is to stick to the recipe. But Ueno says, “You will certainly complete a dish that way, but there’s a wall that cannot be overcome if you just follow the recipes.”

Professional chefs give thought to each step in the cooking process and can explain the reasons for it.

“Asking ‘why’ is key to becoming a good cook,” says Ueno.

For example, when sprinkling salt on meat, the question arises: Is the aim to add a salty taste, draw out the umami of the meat or reduce the smell? The type of salt used and how it is sprinkled varies depending on your goal.

“For instance, if you sprinkle more salt on the fat, it balances the flavor and becomes tastier,” Ueno says.

If you understand the aim, he says, you can choose the best method and apply it in many ways.

It’s also important to observe how a dish changes while cooking. The simmered meat introduced this week allows you to clearly see these changes. When you start simmering the block of meat, for example, it contracts and hardens. Yet when it is simmered further, the meat turns tender.

Cooking becomes more enjoyable the more you understand about the process.

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Kosei Ueno (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

Born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1962, Kosei Ueno has been an editor of the gourmet magazine dancyu since 2001 and the chief editor since 2017. He appears on “Nihonichi futsude oishii Ueno shokudo” (Japan’s most ordinary and tasty Ueno diner) aired on the BS Fuji channel.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serves 4)

600 grams beef cheek meat (gyu-hoho-niku) (beef shank may be used instead), 1 lemon, 3 grams lemongrass (dried), 2 bay leaves, 4 stems each of mint, rosemary and thyme, 1 and 1/2 cloves garlic, 20 grams mayonnaise, 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, some dried parsley and black pepper

1. Remove the fibrous connective tissue from the beef cheek and cut into largish pieces. To draw out flavor, sprinkle a bit of salt on entire surface and leave for a while.

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Cut the beef cheek meat into slightly large pieces. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

2. Pour 2 liters of water in pot and place on heat. Add 18 grams of salt before it comes to a boil and add (1).

3. Add lemon sliced in half, lemongrass, bay leaves, mint, rosemary, thyme and 1 clove garlic. Place lid, leaving a small gap, and simmer on low heat for about an hour and a half until meat is tender.

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Simmer until a chopstick can smoothly go into the meat. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

4. Add mayonnaise, grated 1/2 clove garlic, olive oil and dried parsley to bowl. Mix thoroughly to make garlic mayonnaise sauce.

5. Serve meat on plate, sprinkle with black pepper and serve (4) on the side.

About 410 kcal and 1.1 grams salt per portion

(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

If available, using fresh lemongrass is recommended.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column

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