Yakiniku

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Yakiniku at a yakiniku-ya.

Yakiniku (焼き肉 or 焼肉), meaning "grilled meat", is a Japanese 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 gridirons or griddles over flame of wood charcoals carbonized by dry distillation (sumibi, ja:炭火) or gas/electric grill. In North America, China and Taiwan, Yakiniku is also known as "Japanese BBQ".

It is thought to have originated from horumonyaki, a dish of grilled offal, invented by Korean immigrants in the Kansai area after the Second World War.^[1]

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 sauces known as tare before being eaten. The most common sauce is made of Japanese soy sauce mixed with sake, mirin, sugar, garlic and sesame. Garlic-and-shallot or miso-based dips are sometimes used, and sometimes yakiniku is eaten seasoned only with salt. Soup, kimchi, nameul, bibimbap and other Korean-influenced dishes are often served alongside.

[edit] History

Proposed western-style menus in Seiyō Ryōri Shinan, 1872, recommending a cold meat dish for breakfast, yakiniku for lunch, and a simmered meat or yakiniku dish and a roasted meat dish for dinner.

Jingisukan.

[edit] Etymology

Although meat has been consumed as food in Japanese history, it was officially legalised in 1871 following Meiji Restoration.^[2] as part of an effort to introduce western culture to the country^[3] The Emperor Meiji himself was brought in to be publicly observed eating beef on January 24, 1873 to promote beef consumption.^[4][5] Steak and roasted meat were translated as yakiniku (焼肉) and iriniku (焙肉), respectively, as proposed western-style menus in Seiyō Ryōri Shinan published in 1872,^[6] although this usage of the former word was eventually replaced by the loanword sutēki.

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

[edit] Origin

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 horumonyaki (ja:ホルモン焼き, offal-grill) or simply Joseon (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.^{[citation needed][9][10][11]}

Ventilated barbecue systems, introduced by Shinpo Co., Ltd. in March 1980,^[12] 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,^[13] and yakiniku became more popular 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.^[14]

Many yakiniku restaurants in Japan have been run by ethnic Koreans including the president of All Japan Yakiniku Association^[15] and thus yakiniku industry is sometimes regarded as an "ethnic industry".^[16]

[edit] Similarity to and difference from Korean barbecue

Meat for yakiniku.

‎

Yakiniku Korean-style, marinated with sesame seeds and minced green onion sold in a Japanese supermarket in US.

Although it is also sometimes simply referred to as "Korean barbecue" in English^[17][18] due to its Korean origins, Japanese yakiniku usually differs from authentic Korean dishes such as galbi and bulgogi in several aspects.

Galbi in Japanese cuisine solely means beef short rib and does not refer to other meat or the cuisine referred in Korea, such as Dwaeji galbi (돼지갈비 pork galbi), Dakk galbi (닭갈비 chicken galbi). Therefore, there is no "Japanese galbi restaurant" and remarks of Korean medias such as "Korean dishes such as galbi (roast beef ribs)"^[19] always puzzle Japanese. Cutting grilled meat with scissors is also not popular and customers grill meat by themselves in yakiniku restaurants.　

The most popular style of yakiniku (ko:일본식 고기구이)^[20] in Japanese cuisine corresponds to Korean sen galbi gui (생(鮮)갈비구이) or samgyeopsal, and marinated yangnyeom galbi (양념(藥念)갈비) is generally considered as more Korean. Bulgogi etymologically consists of "fire" and "meat" and means a wider concept for cooked meat with strong heat, while yakijiku (grilled meat) is cooked preferably over direct flame (aburu, wiktionary:炙, 자) and refers to more limited cuisine. In Japan, Seoul-style bulgogi as well as bulgogi jeongol are recognized close to sukiyaki or motsunabe, categorized as pot (nabemono) or pan-fried (teppanyaki or itamemono) dishes rather than yakiniku categorized as a grilled dish (yakimono) that is preferably employed for fresh ingredients in good quality.

[edit] Typical Ingredients

Typical ingredients include:

• Beef and pork
  • Rōsu - loin and chuck slices
  • Karubi or baraniku - short ribs. From the Korean word "galbi". In Japan it is usually served without the bones, unless it is specified as hone-tsuki-karubi (galbi on the bone).
• Horumon or motsu - Offal.
  • Harami - tender meat around the diaphragm.
  • Rebā - beef liver. From the German word "de:Leber".
  • Tan - beef tongue. From the English word "tongue". Often served with salt and lemon juice..
  • Tetchan - intestine. From the Chinese word "大肠" (da chang). May simply be referred to as horumon.
  • Hatsu - heart. From the English word "heart".
  • Mino / Hachinosu - beef tripe
• Chicken
• Seafood - squid, shellfish
• Vegetables - bell pepper, carrots, shiitake and other mushrooms, onions, cabbage, eggplant, bean sprout, garlic, and kabocha squash are common

Yakiniku is usually served with rice or beer. Korean soups, kimchi, bibimbap, namul, lettuce and other sometimes Korean-influenced salads are other common side dishes as well as raw meat dishes such as yukhoe, sashimi of meat, liver, and omasum.

[edit] Yakiniku Day

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

[edit] See also

• Yakitori
• Teriyaki
• Teppanyaki
• Yakisoba
• Galbi
• Bulgogi
• Gyu-Kaku, a chain of yakiniku restaurants
• Cuisine of Japan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Category:Yakimono

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