Yakiniku

Yakiniku at a yakiniku-ya.

Yakiniku (焼き肉 or 焼肉), meaning "grilled meat", is a Japanese language term which, in its broadest sense, refers to a range of grilled meat dishes, including steak.

However, most commonly today, it refers to a Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat (usually beef and often offal) and vegetables on a griddle or over a charcoal or gas burner, widely thought to have originated from Korean-style barbecued meats (bulgogi or galbi) [1][2][3][4], sometimes referred to as "Korean BBQ", although over the decades several key differences have evolved between styles.

In a yakiniku restaurant, diners order several types of prepared raw ingredients (either individually or as a set) which are brought to the table. The ingredients are cooked on a grill built into the table throughout the duration of the meal, several pieces at a time. The ingredients are then dipped in a sauce known as tare before being eaten. The dips are usually soy-based and flavoured with garlic and sesame. A garlic-and-shallot combination, or miso-based dips are sometimes used. The meat is sometimes eaten wrapped in lettuce leaves as in Korea, but this is uncommon in Japan.

Korean BBQ is usually served with rice. Soup, kimchi, nameul, bulgogi and other sometimes Korean-influenced salads are other common side dishes.

History

Origin of Yakiniku

The origin of Yakiniku is the Western world introduced at the Meiji Period. The Meiji emperor ate beef to encourage eating meat on January 24, 1873. Afterwards, barbecue has spread to the Japan. Japanese Famous critic Kanagaki-Robun translated the barbecue into Yakiniku in 1879. Roasting was translated into the Rhosu (ロース). Therefore, the sirloin is called a Rhosu in Japan. [5]　To eat delicious Yakiniku, Kobe beef was developed. Yakiniku of mutton (Zingisukan-Nabe) was created in Hokkaido in 1936.

Influence of Korea

Yakiniku only became widespread during the 20th century, most notably after the Second World War. Restaurants serving this dish either advertised themselves as offal-grill (ホルモン焼き, horumon-yaki) or simply Korean cuisine (朝鮮料理, chōsen ryori). The division of the Korean peninsula led to disagreements in the mid-1960's in the naming of "Korean food", with pro-South businesses changing their signs to "kankoku ryori (韓国料理)" (named after Republic of Korea) rather than sticking to the term chōsen (Joseon), the name of the old, undivided Korea. As a compromise, the term yakiniku ("grilled meat") was adapted as an approximate translation of the Korean term bulgogi. [6][7] Unlike in Korea, Japanese yakiniku establishments served offal as well as regular meat, and used direct heat from charcoal or gas burners.

Ventilated barbecue systems, invented in Nagoya in the mid 1970's, quickly spread throughout Japan as it enabled diners to eat yakiniku in a smoke-free environment and thus greatly extended the clientele.

The Seoul Olympics in 1988 led to a surge of interest in Korea, and yakiniku became extremely fashionable as well as more authentic Korean cuisine. The popularity of yakiniku was given a further boost in 1991 when the easing of beef import restrictions led to a drop in the price of beef. However the industry was dealt an unprecedented blow in 2001 with the occurrence of BSE within Japan.[8]

Typical Ingredients

Typical ingredients include:

• Beef
  • Rosu - loin and chuck slices
  • Karubi ("galbi"in Korean) - short ribs. In Japan it is usually served without the bone, unless it is specified as hone-tsuki-karubi(galbi on the bone).
• Horumon - Beef Offal.
  • Harami - tender meat around the diaphragm.
  • Reba - beef liver. From the English word "liver".
  • Tan - beef tongue. From the English word "tongue". Often served with salt and lemon juice..
  • Tetchan - intestine. From the Korean word "dae-chang". May simply be referred to as horumon.
  • Hatsu - heart. From the English word "heart".
  • Mino / Hachinosu - tripe
• Other meats - chicken, pork
• Seafood - squid, shellfish
• Vegetables - chilis, garlic, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, onions, and kabocha squash are common

Yakiniku is usually served with rice. Korean soups, kimchi, bibimbap, namul, lettuce and other sometimes Korean-influenced salads are other common side dishes.

The Yakiniku day

In 1993, the All Japan Yakiniku Association proclaimed that 29 August is the official "Yakiniku day" (yakiniku no hi).

See also

• Galbi
• Gyu-Kaku, a chain of yakiniku restaurants
• Cuisine of Japan

External links

• Yakiniku Web, the official site of the All Japan Yakiniku Association (in Japanese)