Liae Blog

In this section we will talk about how to cook meals. We will cover some basic food items only and how to cook them properly.

Article assumes basic cooking on an Americanized Japanese Restaurant, although, I would keep in mind that every restaurant has it’s own secret weapon for cooking – the seasoning!

Things a professional Hibachi Chef would
need to cook, but not limited to are :

• Chicken
• Steak
• Salmon
• Red Snapper
• Lobster
• Crab Legs
• Scallops
• Shrimps
• Jumbo Shrimps
• Vegetables

In many restaurants, cooking starts from Rice, Appetizers such as two pieces  of Jumbo Shrimps per order, Vegetables such as Broccoli, and then finally meats are cooked. Also a little bit of extras are offered as Dessert which are cooked at the end such as sweet carrots or fried bananas.

In some restaurants, meals are prepared ready to be cooked for the chef such as Jumbo Shrimp already Devin-ed, Large Zucchini cut into individual pieces, Chopped Onions, etc; while in other restaurants, they may keep things as they are and allow the chef to do the rest such as cut them in-front of the customers.

The only reason why a restaurant would prepare certain things in advance would be to speed-up the process of cooking, saving time for the chef. A small yet busy restaurant might do this. Longer a chef stays on a grill, more the owner is worried about losing customers– for there are more waiting to be seated somewhere else; in line or at the bar!

I’m not going to discuss here in detail how to cook everything, you will need to practice cooking yourself to get everything right. But I will touch upon a few things and the things you should know, it should be a useful guide not a complete training package.

• Chicken is cooked done not well done for one reason; it will be chewy and customers may not like it. But if a customer has asked for well done Chicken, what can you do ? Do what customer wants.
• Meat such as Steaks or Chicken tend to lose their water content if we cook them on low heat.  By cooking at the hot surface, you give them a golden color, then you flip them,  this ensures that the juice is inside and when customers eats it, they can find it. If your cooking shows a drains of bloody juices coming out of a steak or a juice that simply looks like an ugly river starting from your Chicken breast lying on a grill, customers already know that you are not a professional chef. They have already put that in their head – You are new, and they will take every possible opportunity to take advantage on your cooking skills from there on! Asking for discounts or even complaining on the things you actually did right can happen. So I repeat, don’t create rivers on your grill! If you are laughing, I think I used pretty good words. Thank you!

Steak is a bit complicated but not so also. Complicated because customers have individual preferences and you have to cook for a lot of people at the same time on a grill.

Assuming, you have already started cooking, that is you have verified the order, and have asked customers how they would like their steak to be cooked. Just follow these simple rules:

On a table, see who many of the Steak fall into each of these category and then cook them together instead of cooking one at a time. Save time. A slow Chef won’t last long in a busy restaurant.  Do you not want to be a pro ?

Steak to be cooked would include Rare, Medium Rare, Medium, Done, Well Done.

• Steak Rare – This preference keeps most chef so happy, for they don’t need to cook it for long. You gonna love this kind of order. Don’t even bother bringing any color to this order. Just cook it on a slightly heated area, then add seasoning* (* = which will be discussed later)
• Steak Medium Rare – This is like, slicing a steak and finding the inner part RED in color. How to do it, put the steak on a very hot area, flip it, wait a few seconds, flip it. It should be done. Don’t over cook it. You can then slice it to bite size and see for yourself if the inner part is Red or not. Season it, then give to the customer.
• Medium – Meat cooked this way without any seasoning would taste like a  slightly boiled steak. It’s not chewy and nor is it red in color. It’s becoming towards done, but it’s not done either. How to know this ? Well, look at the steak itself, does it look like it’s just came out of the steams ? Does it look juice without any blood on it ? It’s Medium.
• Done – Meat is cooked thoroughly but it’s not well done. See how as you’ve cooked from Rare Meat, and now you have reached to this level, it’s all because of what ? You guessed it right. but that was a stupid question.The answer is HEAT. If you can learn to control the heat of the grill, you can cook anything!  Done is not well done either. Those who can taste will find a difference between (Medium vs Done) and (Done vs Well Done)  Practice and taste Steak in all preferences. It’s not that difficult to do if you can taste and feel each variances. If you think this is all getting too complicated, then let’s stop for a while. When you are headed to becoming a Pro Chef, Why not cook a meal for yourself ? Pay to owner/manager for your order. Do it! A real practice before you cook for the customer, is that too much to ask ?
• Well Done – When Rare was the easiest for you, here is one that’s also the same, except you had to cook for a long time, but nothing to worry about it. You don’t have to cook for a long time to make a thin sliced steak to done. Give more heat, you can cook faster.

Help me, it’s so complicated. How do I go about making sure the customer won’t complain on his preferences ? Here is a quick tip, write it down.

• When you are cooking say Medium and you are afraid that the customer will complain as being Done. Just after it has changed it’s inner color from Red to White or Black (I should say), upon seasoning it, give a small piece to the customer and ask, “Sir, is that good ?” His/Her answer will tell you if you are done. Same goes for well done. If it looks well done to you, give one piece to the customer and ask, “Sir, how is it ?” If the answer is awesome, you are done. What are you worried about ?

* Seasoning

I kept a separate part for this so we can discuss in detail. Part two, the photo essay has some info on this, so do check that part after finishing this one as well. Let’s cover a few seasonings:

No two Hibachi Japanese Restaurants are alike. Seasonings are often the secret that keeps their business or could it be the art of making that addictive Shrimp Sauce ?

Most meat items are seasoned using Soy Sauce, Teriyaki sauce (if it’s Teriyaki order),  a touch of lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, and Sesame Seeds. One thing many Chefs keep in their head is, how much salt am I using, since they have salt shaker as well as the mother of all salt– the Soy Sauce.

Also know the order, is the order Hibachi or Teriyaki. Use Teriyaki sauce when the order is Teriyaki and never for Hibachi.

How to cook Rice?

Imagine this for a moment. You went to a grill. You did your show. You pulled out the tray full of rice. Dumped it on the center of the grill, then you turn towards your cart to put that empty plate, then you started suffling your rice and you notice some rice has turned black. It just happened in less than 5 seconds or even less than that. Why did the rice burnt ?

Always know the temperate of your grill.  So, to avoid this, always drop the rice away from the center if the grill is extremely hot. Also, NEVER POUR DOWN OIL ON TOP OF RICE! A customer will never eat on that restaurant ever again, believe me. If you have to use oil, use it earlier, i.e., before dumping the rice. You can always add a little bit of butter later if necessary and it looks good if you could place it under the rice instead of on top of the rice. When you are shuffling the rice, don’t let it fly everywhere ont the table, be gentle. The whole idea here is to ensure that every grain is getting heated, a bit fried. (remember that word, a bit… not the whole grain!)

Egg is mixed with rice, know if there are any who is allergic or simply are on a diet. Some don’t like Eggs on rice. To deal with this, chefs usually cook  rice separately or add egg later. When scrambling Egg and mixing with rice, don’t let the raw slimy egg touch the rice. Customers think that’s gross, and they might get up and leave.

Scrambling Egg – the best technique ever : Put a bit of oil, break egg on it, about 2 for three people or use your common sense here. Remember to put the egg drops away from extreme heat. Now slowly bring it to the heat, flip the mess, then you do what  the following diagram shows:

a simple diagram, nothing fancy.

Move the rice away from the center when you are working with the egg mess.

Move the spatula up and down on the egg mess, and as your spatula hits the fork, it makes the noise ding ding ding ding and so on. Shuffle and repeat until you know the egg is scrambled well.

Egg mess is chopped into small pieces, customers will have hard time finding them on their rice, and you already look like a PRO to them. Keep it up! and Cheers for doing something cool. Once the egg looks done, mix it with the rice, and when the rice looks warm (you can probably feel some steam coming out and see some grains being fried, then pour down the magic sauce – Soy Sauce! Stir for a few more seconds, now the nice should be done, put it a side and give to customer one by one.

What to do with the egg shells ? - some leave it at the end of the grill, others take it out. A professional chef will do what-ever he or she can to keep his grill clean. Don’t leave a second chance. Grills have a hole at the end and you can push the egg shells down or you can use the spatula to take it out and put it on an empty tray to carry back to the kitchen later. If you are touching the egg shells or any dirty stuffs, remember to wipe the spatula with a clean towel before you touch the rice or any other cooking materials.

How to cook Lobster ?

Lobster isn’t served whole, it’s the tail. Know that first.

So customer is going to get a big part of the Lobster, isn’t he ? or she ?

So cook it well or you will be screwed.

Lobster could be among the highest price on the menu too.

Here is how to cook it:

Sea foods tend to be salty, so avoid using too much salt; a touch of soy sauce and a lot of butter is required. The more butter the better works well for LOBSTER. In fact, don’t you know people who eat Lobsters need melted butters. But they aren’t served often in a Japanese Restaurant, so you take control now on the grill. More butter the better, avoid using too much salt. Take out the whole part of the meat from tail with the help of your fork and spatula, not by your hands by no means!!!! What should I add on it ? Ask the manager. Every restaurant would have different ways to cook this tail, but not too much of anything at all. Cut the meat into small bite size pieces and then put them back on the shell and place it on the customer’s plate. That’s one among many other methods for  this item.

How to cook Crab Legs ?

Don’t expect the restaurant to have a cracker  for legs etc. Legs are prepared alright back at the kitchen, shells are already cut horizontally/vertically. Customers must enjoy using their hands or fork the meat out. What not to use ? Too much of salt. I’ve perhaps repeated too many times here and else where, sea foods often contain salt in them already! Know it now and I won’t write it down again! You don’t need to do nothing, just steer them on the grill, use a lot of butter and they should cooked with a little bit of Soy Sauce and a Lemon juice.

How to cook Shrimp or Jumbo Shrimp ?

This is one of the chefs best friend! Easy to cook and hey customers love it.

Put oil or butter on the grill, and dump them there, stir the stuff and enjoy your visual feast as they change color from plain to Golden color. Use a touch of lemon and soy sauce and you are done. No need to add anything to this item at all. Unless of course it’s a Teriyaki order; then use Teriyaki Sauce on it, do that a few seconds before giving it to the customer. Don’t just expect your way, if a single customer tells you, “can you please cook that a bit longer!” — listen to him or her, and follow the order. Some people prefer the sea foods to be cooked Well Done, I mean, very well done.

Well, I’m gonna leave the rest to you. You need to cook yourself. My methods here may be different at the place where you will be cooking. As a trainee you should be able to observe a lot. Watch how the head chef is cooking or get some instructions from managers.

Are you having fun cooking ? If you are not, you will never become a Pro! Period.

Anything Left to say.
Oh yes, a few that you thought hear from me.

• As a trainee, the more chances you get to cook, the better it is for you. Don’t be lazy.
• Cook as many tables as you can.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. When cooking steak, it’s always a good idea to give a few pieces to the customer  to see if it’s done. Since you are new, but they don’t’ know, may be, that’s your way of taking care of a customer individually. Some customers like this approach.
• Grill isn’t just a Grill. It’s a place to bring flavor, aroma and color to  foods. Don’t serve a chicken breast that looks just plain white. Learn to bring some colors without burning food.
• When you are cooking? Keep on moving, keep on talking, don’t be idle or be focusing on one item at a time. A professional chef will be keeping an eye on everything on the grill.
• Don’t be fooled that customers wont’ complain if their mouth catches one or two egg shell cracks, so pay special attention when you are dealing with the egg.
• A chef who talks to customer, smiles and makes them feel comfortable is less likely to get complaints than others. But if your cooking is miserable, and you think you are doing a great job, think again. Americans are polite, nice people, many will never complain even if you make a mistake. They say “Thank you” even if you didn’t say  “You Welcome” to them. Just because you got no complaints from a table doesn’t’ mean you did well. As a trainee who is headed to become a pro, ask yourself, and do this, on every item you cook, “Am I doing right ? Is this how I’m suppose to do it? Ask your customer “is everything okay?” At the end of your cooking, you can notice by looking at people’s faces on how well you did. Are there any unhappy faces ? Is there a plate that’s full of food ? Has someone already left but you didn’t know until  the very end of your cooking ?

Well, that’s it for now. Go to the last part for any extras I will carry on.

A professional chef is one cooks, and cooks well, and a trainee is one who must keep on asking  “Would I eat what I’ve cooked ? Am I doing okay ?”

Ask. Ask. and Ask. There is nothing wrong asking and you don’t lose a penny.

Goto other parts of
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

– ruben