Information about Yakiniku

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

Today, it commonly refers to a Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat (usually beef and offal) and vegetables on a griddle or over a charcoal or gas burner. In North America, China and Taiwan, Yakiniku is also known as "Japanese BBQ.

Although it is also sometimes simply referred to as "Korean barbecue" in English ^{[1] [2]} due to a widespread belief that Japanese yakiniku originates from Korean dishes such as bulgogi and galbi, this is not strictly accurate, as Japanese yakiniku usually differs from such more authentic Korean dishes in several aspects. It is instead thought to have originated from horumonyaki, a dish of grilled offal, invented by Korean immigrants in the Kansai area after the Second World War^[3]. The situation is further confused by the fact that bulgogi and galbi too are commonly referred to as "yakiniku" in Japan. Additionally, jingisukan, a grilled mutton dish native to Hokkaido, is also referred to as a type of yakiniku. Anyhow, It is likely that "yakiniku" in Japan have had a considerable influence from the original Korean style cusine such as bulgogi and galbi.

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 by the diners 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 sugar, sake, garlic and sesame. A garlic-and-shallot combination, or miso-based dips are sometimes used. Soup, kimchi, nameul, bibimbap and other Korean-influenced dishes are often served alongside.

History

Origin of the word

Although meat has been consumed as food in Japan throughout history, it was officially legalised in 1871 following Meiji Restoration. [1] as part of an effort to introduce western culture to the country^[4]. The Emperor Meiji himself was brought in to be publicly observed eating beef on January 24, 1873 to promote beef consumption. [2].^[5]. Steak was translated as yakiniku ("grilled meat") in 1872, although this usage of the word was eventually replaced by the loanword sutēki.^[6]

Jingisukan (Japanese transliteration of Genghis Khan), is style of grilling mutton, which is also referred to as a type of yakiniku. It was first conceived 1931 in Hokkaido, where it has ever since been a popular blue-collar dish, but has only recently gained nationwide popularity.^{[7] [8]}

Modern usage

Common Japanese style of Yakiniku, drawing influences from Korean dishes such as bulgogi and galbi, became widespread in Japan 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, kankoku ryori)" (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 was adapted as an approximate translation of the Korean term bulgogi. [3][4][5],

Ventilated barbecue systems, invented by Korean immigrants in Nagoya in the mid 1970's, quickly spread throughout Japan as it enabled diners to eat Korean influenced 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^[9], and yakiniku became extremely fashionable in Japan. 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 (mad cow disease) within Japan.[6]

Typical Ingredients

Typical ingredients include:

• Beef
• Rōsu - loin and chuck slices
• Karubi (this term is orginated from "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.

Yakiniku Day

In 1993, the All Japan Yakiniku Association proclaimed 29 August as official "Yakiniku Day" (yakiniku no hi).

See also

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

References

External links

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