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Japanese Dispatch
Some Like It Torched
What happened when I used a kitchen torch on my usual oyakodon
The surface of the food dries, then begins to brown. Soon, a savory aroma fills the air.
More than half a century has passed since Julia Child brought the blowtorch into the kitchen. The tool has changed over the years, but the technique is still used in all kinds of cooking.
Kitchen torches aren’t unusual in Japan either. Camping has become increasingly popular in recent years, and some people own gas torches for lighting charcoal. Even among people who don’t camp, many who enjoy cooking have one in their kitchen.
One of the first things that comes to mind when I think about torching food is the Maillard reaction, the browning that occurs when heat causes sugars and amino acids in food to react. Long before I knew the term, I already knew that food with just the right amount of browning tasted good. Now that I know why, somehow it tastes even better.
Torching can do other things as well. It can evaporate moisture from the surface and create a crisp texture. When applied to fatty parts of salmon or tuna, it can also melt some of the fat.
With fish such as sea bream, a lot of the flavor is concentrated just beneath the skin…
