Occasionally we will be posting up "Food Spotlight" posts so that you, the reader, may expand your gastronomic knowledge. Through these posts you will learn more about your favorite ingredients, styles of cooking, culinary history and so on and so forth. "Food Spotlight" gives us a chance to convey additional information outside of our reviews. We hope you enjoy our "Food Spotlight" posts.
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Yakiniku. The word send shivers down my spine. I LOVE yakiniku. But what IS yakiniku anyway? For most locals born of Korean or Japanese ancestry it's a birthright. Strips of meat and vegetables self-grilled on a gas burner. Heaven on Earth.
But what nationality does yakiniku hail from? And what is the difference between yakiniku and teppanyaki? And why...WHY should I dine out if I have to cook my own meal?! Today we shall answer these age-old questions and much more.
Yakiniku (roughly translated as "grilled meat") is a Japanese style of cooking. The common misconception (especially here in Hawai'i) is that yakiniku is Korean. This is half true. The idea of yakiniku is Japanese based idea (I'm sure we've all seen the Japanese grilling food over a charcoal fire fanning the flames to keep the heat up) that was born in Korea during WWII when local Koreans took the idea and used what they had at the time for provisions (usually scrap meats or offal). The Koreans already had a yakiniku-type dish involving fish but using the method to use up less desirable cuts of meat was a new idea. This is why the majority of the populace believe that yakiniku is Korean. You may now be thinking but if the yakiniku we know and love today was invented by the Koreans, why give the Japanese so much credit? During a period of time, the Japanese were shrouded from the outside world to prevent westernization. When this period ended, the ruling Emperor of Japan encouraged his subjects to eat beef. One way that was mentioned was to slice and grill the meat briefly over hot flames. Thus the concept of yakiniku was born. However, these cuts of meat were far superior in comparison to those avaliable in Korea during WWII. So the real difference between the original Japanese-style yakiniku and the original Korean-style yakiniku is the quality of meat. However, over the years the two styles started to merge into one and became the yakiniku we know and love today in the islands. However you can still find pockets of the original styles of yakiniku from Japan and Korea.
Here in Hawai'i, yakiniku is mostly associated with Korean food. If you walked into almost any yakiniku restaurant here in Hawai'i, you will find Korean side-dishes on the menu such as kim-chee, Korean-style pickled vegetables, seaweed soup, taegu, and so on. To me, yakiniku is yakiniku regardless of Japanese or Korean influences.
Another common misconception is that the word yakiniku is interchangeable with teppanyaki. Teppanyaki is yet another Japanese invention. Although it is similar to yakiniku there are some major differences. In the teppanyaki style of cooking, the food is cooked on a flat-top griddle instead of a grill. Although the food is cooked right in front of you, there is usually a chef present to prepare your meal. There are also a difference in the type of food cooked. While yakiniku centers around simple strips of meats and vegetables, teppanyaki ingredients are sometimes combined to form complex dishes which cannot be made on a grill at a yakiniku joint (a common example would be shrimp fried rice). Along with the show (the chef preparing your food usually adds flair to his or her cooking [think bartender]) and not having to cook your own food, teppanyaki also comes with the bill. Usually a big bill.
So other than price, why should I go eat yakiniku instead of teppanyaki? The experience. Bring your friends along with you. There's something about friends cooking their meal together that promotes fellowship (not to mention a few laughs if they can't cook to save their lives). It is also a good way to spark someones interest in cooking or as a teaching-tool on how to cook.
Did I mention the sauces? Most yakiniku restaurants serve their meats with a tangy shoyu-based sauce and (my personal favorite) a sauce containing a mixture of salt, pepper, and sesame oil (I know, it sounds strange but it's wonderful).
Most yakiniku restaurants provide a few staple types of ingredients for you to cook. These include some type of cheap beef (usually marinated sirloin or chuck strips and thin slices of plain sirloin), Kalbi (Korean-style marinated short ribs), chicken, pork loin, and a variety of vegetables (mushrooms, zucchini, onion and so on). However, every now and then you will stumble upon a yakiniku restaurant that will offer other cuts. Pricier versions of beef are sometimes offered such as thin slices of ribeye and at some places even wa-gyu beef. Traditionally, yakiniku was used as a method to make use of scrap pieces of meat and offal. Some restaurants still offer bits of offal (my favorite being cow tongue and thin strips of fatty pork) although finding yakiniku restaurants that still serve offal is hard to come by (if you find any, drop me an email at TheChef@808foodscene.net).
At this point, I would like to give out some suggestions in regards to choosing and eating at a yakiniku restaurant:
-If you don't mind shelling out the cash, Yakiniku Toraji is a great choice. They serve quality cuts of meat including wa-gyu beef.
-If you just want to grab your friends and just pig out, I suggest Yakiniku Camellia which has an all-you-can-eat buffet (lunch is cheap at $11.95 but they don't serve my favorite sauce during lunch and they don't serve non-marinated beef anymore)
-While cooking, make sure you monitor the flame (make sure it's not too high or too low) the controls are usually located on the side of the table it is sitting in.
-Remember, vegetables take longer to cook than meats.
-If you are at a Korean-style yakiniku restaurant I suggest you at least try a lettuce wrap. To make one, get a piece of lettuce and put a small dab of rice in it. Then spread on some spicy bean paste (I know it may sound strange to some but it's great) then add your piece of beef (one or two will do depending on the size of your lettuce leaf). Neatly fold up your lettuce so that it's completely encased then dip in your favorite sauce. It may be messy but it's just wonderful.
-This is one of the few times I will say throw out the cross-contamination rules. It is just too difficult to keep foods separate. However, I do suggest using only one side of the chopsticks to grab raw meats and to cook with while using the other side to eat with (maybe even use two sets of chopsticks).
-Don't be ashamed if your meats or vegetables turn out burnt. This is a learning experience and builds a better understanding of how long food takes to cook.
-Expect to walk out of the restaurant smelling like grill smoke and garlic.
Although I may have said in past posts that sushi is my favorite food, yakiniku holds a special place in my heart. And just to let you Korean-style yakiniku fans know, I do prefer Korean-style over the traditional Japanese-style yakiniku.
That said, we wish you yakiniku new-comers good luck with mastering the grill and as for you veterans, we hope that we have shed some truth on a much loved topic.
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