Tag: origin

The Adana Kebab

M's Adventures

Adana? Where is that? That is the reaction one usually gets to mentioning Adana. Although the city may not be famous, the Adana kebab (kebap here) certainly is. So what is it exactly?

It is a hand made artisanal hand minced lamb (must be from a male sheep younger than one year) elongated meat patty shaped around a metal skewer. It is grilled over an open charcoal fired grill. The Adana kebab is always grilled well done. There is a high percentage of pure white tail fat chopped into the meat mix to add juiciness and flavor. Non spicy red bell pepper can also be chopped in with the mix. The mixture is minced with a special crescent shaped cleaver, called a “zirh.” The percentage of meat to fat is 5 to 1. After the mixture is made, according to the recipe, it should be rested for a day.

There are some assumptions that the Adana kebab is spicy. It is not. Although the accompanying jalapeño chili can be. Each portion of Adana kebab is about 180 grams and it takes a master’s touch to make the meat mixture stick to the skewer so that it can be turned often while cooking. While the meat is cooking, the juices are soaked up with flat bread. This bread is served with the meat. It is fun to watch the master (“usta”) form the kebab. It takes a bit of water and a lot of skill to quickly move the hand up the skewer creating a wave of meat.

Like all kebabs, there will be the obligatory free salads (Don’t pay! They should be free!) and a grilled chili pepper and tomato. The kebab is served with flat bread, usually pide, so you can make your own delicious bites. Like most food here, you can spice or flavor the food as you like, with a sprinkle of red pepper powder, salt, or drops of lemon.

The typical drink with the Adana kebab is ayran, savory salted yogurt, or şalgam, fermented turnip. Or ice cold raki, alcohol made from grapes and flavored with aniseed.

Adana is proud and famous for the Adana kebab. Now that the Adana kebab is a designated cultural origin food, the city holds festivals of kebabs…

My informal guess is that there is a kebab shop on every block. At least one. Maybe two or four. So every day is a kebab festival!

Crave – Food at the Source

M's Adventures

I know that it is the general convention that dishes, food, is best tasted at the source. I think that does some disservice to the diaspora and fusion food that has evolved over the millennia. That said, here is a list of food that I often crave. Actually, for many of the dishes, I prefer in their newer form. But, then again… some I prefer at the source.

Ceviche — I like the classic old fashioned version. The Peruvians love fusion. They are a fusion and so is their food. So now one can find “warm ceviche” and ceviche not made with fish.

“Ceviche classico” with “leche de tigre” (tiger’s milk) making the fish turn white.

Danish hotdog — I prefer them in Denmark. The actual hotdog is special, the ketchup is different, the dog is served with crunchy fried onions…
New York pizza — also, one of those things. Some say that the New York pizza is like a Neopolitan pizza from Naples, Italy. We shall see…
Hamburger — Some of the best I’ve had are in the United States. American beef and lack of gristle in the mix.
Banh mi — I’ve had good ones outside of Vietnam.
Pho — Also, good in the certain parts of the United States. Very bland in other places.
Korean BBQ — If one sticks to the pork belly, then it’s fairly easy to get good Korean barbecue in many countries. I think that many people think that bulgogi should be made with a high grade of beef and grilled at the table. Traditionally, bulgogi was created to use bad cuts of meat that required marinating. Usually the slices are so thin that grilling at the table dries them out. Some places use good cuts of steak and then one can dip them in sesame seed oil and salt. This is a delicious way to eat barbecue.
Chicken wings — Oddly, some of the best barbecue wings I’ve had were in a pizzeria in New Mexico.
Dim sum — can be good in many places outside China.

Laksa — so far the best I’ve had, and even some of the mediocre, was in Singapore and Malaysia. What can I say?

Most of all, the food of other lands transports you to them.