asada vs. bistec?

So I noticed today that this curriculum calls steak ‘bistec’. But I always thought steak was called asada? Probably a very obvious answer, but the different names for foods in spanish is confuing…Street tacos with steak usaually are listed as “con asada” so I'm assuming its just a different name--but how to differentiate between the two? Is one referring to a different way to cook steak? Or am I just totally crazy???? help!!

bistec is steak (a cut of meat, but not necessarily beef)

asada is grilled food, not even necessarily meat (you can grill vegatables for instance)

At a lot of Tex-Mex restaurants they list “asada” as a meat choice, but what that really means is it is grilled meat. Carne asada would be more correct, but using context, most people know what the restaurant is saying.

HI All

Asada as I understand it is grilled. can be meat or vegetables. To make a disctinction that it is meat I think you need to add carne then it is grilled meat. So As far as I can see Scott is correct.

That aside. When I was first married was looking at one of my sister in law's cookery books . My husbands family is Portuguese and I do speak it. I came across a recipe for roast beef. Was literally  2 sentences. Made me laugh so hard, as English cookery books wax on lyrically how to cook a roast beef to perfection. Still amuses me. 

Maxie

¡Hola a todos!

Just jumping in with a few extra facts, in case they're helpful!

As your fellow learners have indicated, Trynna_Learn_Spanish_AD, asada in the situation you've described is likely short for carne asada, which literally means “roasted / grilled meat.” I can completely see where your confusion has come from with this term because you will sometimes see carne asada translated as “steak” in places such as menus! The reason for this is that the dish/ingredient carne asada is normally made (as AL22 has indicated) using a type of steak, such as skirt steak, which is then prepared in a specific way. So that's what the restaurant is trying to get across clearly by using “steak” as their translation. The word bistec, on the other hand, simply refers to (beef) steak in general.

The Spanish word for grilled food / barbecue, meanwhile, is actually asado - so, slightly different from asada. The word asado (which can actually mean “roast” as well) can be used to refer to both the food being grilled and to the event of preparing/eating this food - much like the word “barbecue” in English! We have a Culture lesson about asado that might interest you at the end of Lesson 3.8, under the heading “Culture: Tacos and Asado.”

Saludos,

Liss

Thanks Liss, learned something (always a good thing) - didn't know about asado!

Yes Thanks Liss

Another addition to the puzzle

Maxie

¡Hola a todos!

I'm glad to have been of help, Scott_C, Maxie, and Al22! :)

As for your questions/comments, Al22: 

You're right to have associated the words asado and asada “roasted / grilled” with the gender of the meat being grilled: these words can be the past participle form of the verb asar “to roast / to grill / to barbecue,” in which case you can use them as adjectives to describe different foods. So it would indeed be carne asada “grilled / roasted meat” (since la carne “the meat” is feminine) and pollo asado “grilled / roasted chicken” (since el pollo “the chicken” is masculine). For the same reason, it would have to be cochinita asada “grilled (little) pig” (since la cochinita “the (little) pig” is feminine) and puerco asado “grilled pig” (since el puerco “the pig” is masculine).

You're also right to indicate that different terminology will be preferred in different regions - some people may indeed prefer to say barbacoa instead of asado for “barbecue” in various different locations (although in most of Latin America, asado seems to be the more popular term).  It all becomes a little tricky in general as we talk about food! The term that a native Spanish speaker will use for a given dish can vary based on location, a fluctuation in ingredients, or even just an individual chef's personal preference! As a result, I'm afraid I can't really say which culinary term would be preferred in what place for certain dishes. However, if you get the basic vocabulary down for different types of ingredients and basic meals, you should still be able to get what you're talking about across in any part of Latin America. 

I hope that this answers your questions and clears everything up for you! Do let me know if I've missed anything. 

Saludos,

Liss