''Steak frites'', meaning "steak
ndfries" in French, is a dish consisting of
steak
A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into pat ...
paired with
French fries
French fries ( North American English), chips ( British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or '' allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France ...
. It is commonly served in European
brasserie
In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brew ...
s, and is considered by some to be the
national dish
A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons:
* It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...
of Belgium, which claims to be the place of its invention.
Historically, the
rump steak
Rump steak is a cut of beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred spec ...
was commonly used for this dish. More typically at the present time, the steak is an
entrecôte also called rib eye, or scotch fillet (in Australia),
pan-fried rare ("''saignant''"—literally "bloody"), in a pan reduction sauce, sometimes with
hollandaise or
béarnaise sauce, served with deep-fried potatoes (
French fries
French fries ( North American English), chips ( British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or '' allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France ...
).
Francophilia
A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...
led to its generalization to the Portuguese-speaking world, where it is called or , especially in Brazil, where the sauce is usually just onion rings cooked and fried in the steak's own juice and frying oil, being the most popular dish to go aside rice and beans.
Steak frites is also common in other countries, such as
Anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
and
Spanish-speaking Latin American countries.
Steak frites is the subject of a
semiotic analysis by the French cultural theorist
Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popul ...
in his 1957 work ''
Mythologies
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
''.
File:Flank Steak & Frites - Cliff House - San Francisco, CA.jpg, Steak frites prepared using flank steak, at a San Francisco restaurant
File:Steak frites.jpg, Steak frites in Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
, France
See also
*
Café de Paris sauce
Café de Paris sauce is a butter-based sauce served with grilled beef. When it is served with the sliced portion of an ''entrecôte'' (in American English: a rib eye steak) or a ''faux-filet'' (in English: a sirloin steak) the resulting dish is k ...
*
Moules-frites
*
L'Entrecôte
*
Brasserie
In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brew ...
Notes
References
{{reflist
British cuisine
French cuisine
Belgian cuisine
Beef dishes
Potato dishes
Meat and potatoes dishes