Different takes of Steaks

CEBU, Philippines – If you thought grilling a cut of beef and seasoning it with salt and pepper is the only way steak is prepared, the three steak varieties we're featuring here will prove you wrong.

From a Japanese method of steak preparation to a type of "vegetarian steak," here are three steak variations enjoyed in different parts of the world:

Salisbury Steak

Named after its "inventor" - an American physician named James Henry Salisbury (1823-1905) - Salisbury steak is made from ground beef blended with other ingredients.

It is often likened to the Hamburger steak, given the similarities shared between the two.

But, loosely, Salisbury steak is different from the hamburger steak in terms of the type of ground meat used in its preparation - with most hamburger steaks purely made from ground beef, while Salisbury steaks are made from ground beef mixed with pork.

The term "Salisbury steak" is attributed to have been popularly used in the United States since 1897, but a number of food historians note that the earliest record that mentions it dates back to 1885.

Chaliapin Steak

While the "teriyaki style" is the most recognized way of preparing steaks in Japan, it is not the only method that's known in the land of the rising sun.

The Chaliapin Steak - a type of steak that's argued to be an original Japanese steak recipe - is often mentioned in this regard. Named after Russian opera singer Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin (1873-1938), a number of food historians share that the steak was "discovered" in 1936, when the opera singer was on tour in the country. The singer was purportedly suffering from a toothache one day, and a hotel chef devised a way to prepare a steak that was extra tender for him.

Generally, the preparation of a Chaliapin Steak entails cutting a crisscross pattern on both sides of a slice of beef, then smearing the sides with finely diced onions. The onions act as a meat tenderizer apart from adding flavor - all in all making it flavorful, juicy and tender.

Watermelon Steak

Like the regular beef or pork steak, Watermelon Steaks are typically prepared by grilling - though there are cooking variations where they are baked, roasted after marinating, or pan fried.

Identified as a type of vegetarian steak, it resembles the taste and texture of seared raw tuna when baked - with others describing the general texture to resemble that of seared meat.

Though popularly referred to as "vegetarian steak," it isn't the only non-meat steak enjoyed by vegetarians, as there are other variations that use Portobello Mushrooms, cauliflower and eggplant.