Fond of melting meats? We present you the yakiniku, a friendly and very popular dish in Japan. Presentation:
Yakiniku, a delight for meat lovers
Yakiniku 焼き肉 which literally means “grilled meat” is a cooking method originating from Korea, the famous Korean barbecue. The meat is cut into thin slices, sometimes marinated in a spicy sauce and presented on a plate. In the center of your table is a grill on which you place your raw meat, you manage your own cooking. The cooking is done with charcoal, gas or hotplates. These cooking methods make your meat very tender, well grilled, and tasty. A real delight. Moreover, the yakiniku is accompanied by a sauce in which you dip your meat, it is composed of sake, mirin sugar, garlic and sesame oil. You can also find sauces made of miso (fermented soybean paste) spiced with togarashi (red pepper). The sauce is really delicious and goes perfectly with the meat. 
In Japan, you will find many restaurants specializing in yakiniku as the Japanese do not eat only fish.
The different meats in a yakiniku:
You will find many different meats:
Beef:
- meat around the shoulder, and slices of shoulder and loin
- side dish
- skirt steak
- beef tongue (very appreciated by Japanese, it is tender and tasty) …
pork:
- pork belly
- pork loin
- pork chop
- pork tongue
- heart
- nose…
chicken:
- chicken leg
- chicken skin
- chicken liver
- chicken wings
- chicken cartilage
- tail
- the neck…
other meats:
- of the lamb
- sheep
- horse meat
- duck…
Seafood (rarer but, you will find it)
- shrimp
- crab
- squid
- shellfish…
Vegetables:
- cabbage
- onion
- corn
- green bell pepper
- kabocha squash
- potato
- eggplant
- shiitake mushroom
- carrot…
Yakiniku is often accompanied by kimchi, spicy fermented Chinese cabbage, and sometimes Japanese white rice.
You will notice that the meat is marbled and white in color. At first sight, it may seem very fatty, you will even find it surrounded by a thick rind. But beware, it is not at all elastic and “veiny” as one might imagine, but on the contrary very tender and tasty with a texture close to butter sometimes. The meat literally melts in your mouth. The more marbled it is, the better it is.
Yakiniku in Japan
In Japan, there are many yakiniku restaurants, called yakiniku-ya. They are very popular and Japanese people meet there with friends or work colleagues. There are all-you-can-eat yakiniku restaurants! Meat, vegetables, desserts are all you can eat for a certain time (about 1h30). There are also yakiniku specializing in beef tongue! These restaurants are very popular.
You can also find them in bento 焼肉弁当 or mixed with rice 焼肉ピラフ On the other hand, there are ready-made yakiniku 焼肉のたれ sauces that are delicious. You can also make our quick and easy recipe of our yakiniku sauce.
