question. "Piccata"
It's been bothering me for years... if you ask 10 Japanese people what "piccata" is, you get the same answer: "a cutlet dipped in egg-parm mixture (or even, just beaten eggs), and sauteed/pan-fried".
I don't know who made the first mistake to call francese "piccata", but that's the way it is in Japan.
I know names of dishes evolve as they travel around the world and modified, so now, I'm curious if "piccata" is actually a standard way people describe the dish in Italy.
*please educate me!*
Teriyaki in the US, for example, is usually done wrong. teri=shine, so you have to make it shiny by brushing mirin-soy mixture on a piece of fish or meat (traditionally fish) while grilling, but most of the time some meat is marinated in "teriyaki sauce" and cooked. but even in Japan the definition of teriyaki is becoming loose as gooey teriyaki sauce is back-imported.
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9 Comments:
Piccata is chicken which is lightly breaded and pan fried in olive oil, then sauced with lemon juice, wine and capers -- in my experience.
juliebugsmama at 1:54PM on 10/05/09
yes, my understanding of piccata (means piquant?) is what @juliebugsmama described (could be veal, etc). sorry I wasn't clear!
but... is calling this way of cooking "piccata" an American version?
Still very puzzled by the blatant mistake in Japan. lol
hmw0029 at 2:11PM on 10/05/09
"Piccata" is in reference to the sauce in the dish, because it is piquant or tart/ zesty. It can be made with really most any cut of meat, but veal or chicken are most often used. The cut most often used is a cutlet ( a thin slice of meat) a piece of meat that has been pounded thin is known as a paillard (pie-ard). Both cuts can be breaded, but a cutlet could also mean ground meat that is formed into a patty and breaded.
Breaded cutlets or Paillards can be made into several different dishes such as, Piccata, Pizzaiola, Francese, Milanese etc...
Hope this helps.
Pavlov at 3:20PM on 10/05/09
thanks Pavlov!
I guess my main question now is whether "scallopini piccata" is actually Italian or Italian-American.
hmw0029 at 6:56PM on 10/05/09
More than likely Italian-American, probably late 20's early 30's. The Italians would know "Piccata" as a larded piece of veal (unless you're from Milan, more on that in a second.). Larding is the process of adding pork fat to lean pieces of meat with a larding needle, injecting little slivers of fat into the meat.
In Milan when a cutlet or scallopini or paillard is dipped in egg wash and coated with bread crumbs and fried is called piccata... Milan is a Northern Italian city, where the flavors of what most Americans know as Piccata are from. I know it gets a little confusing. Yesterdays answer is an answer from what we know of piccata in North America.... Most Italians (in Italy) wouldn't really know you were looking for a cutlet dipped in bread crumbs and fried with a sauce of lemons and capers if you asked for Scallopini Piccata.
Hope you stayed with me on that!
Pavlov at 4:57AM on 10/06/09
ahhhh. that's what I wanted to know. Thank you Pavlov!
so as you said
"In Milan when a cutlet or scallopini or paillard is dipped in egg wash and coated with bread crumbs and fried is called piccata...",
if egg wash is actually involved in making piccata in Minan, the Japanese interpretation of it is not completely wrong?
I guess I got confused by the American version!
very interesting :-)
hmw0029 at 7:36AM on 10/06/09
gah, I shouldn't attempt to comment in the morning.. Milan!
hmw0029 at 7:37AM on 10/06/09
Er... I am from Milan, quite a foodie and I would say what you call Piccata is the North Italian alternative for the Wiener Schnitzel, and we call it Cotoletta :)
I´m assuming that used to be the name for the same dish back in the ´10s-20´s when most people from the area left for other countries, and it just remained as such. But I assure you, many would reply with a very confused gaze if you were to ask for something similar in a Milanese restaurant. Just as if you were asking for a frappuccino, or a cioppino, by the way!
Sunna at 6:16AM on 10/08/09
I'm so lost in translation.
hmw0029 at 10:52PM on 10/08/09