Yakiniku
Yakiniku simply means “grilled meat.” The popular use of the term is a style of cooking your own meat on a small grill which is built into the dining table and shared by your immediate party. The majority of Japanese-style yakiniku houses use thin cuts of beef that are dipped in a choice of different sauces immediately after cooking.
| You're lookin' at strips of beef in the top 1 percentile in the country based upon the Beef Marbling Score (BMS), far surpassing any Angus, Sterling Silver, or USDA prime! From Yakiniku Hiroshi's in Waikiki. |
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The finer yakiniku restaurants feature expensive, highly-marbled beef that can be of such a premium quality that single servings can fetch up to $200 or more! They are so exquisite that they no longer look like beef, but are more white than red from marbling, and have a luxurious, buttery-soft texture that is often compared to foie gras. Yakiniku-style cooking is, without a doubt, the best way to take advantage of this special type of beef. I prefer the cuts very thin, as opposed to steak-like or in cubes, which allows for quick, done-in-seconds cooking. The delicate fats melt away so quickly and easily that the thicker cuts, which stay on the grill much longer, produces a much tougher end product because of the loss of precious marbling, which totally defeats the purpose of this delicacy!
The most popular of the premium Japanese beef types is Kobe beef, which comes from a black-haired strain of cow originally from the Asian mainland, but brought to what is now called the Hyogo prefecture (formerly Tajima), of which the principal city is Kobe. They were prized for their high genetic pre-disposition to fat, and were selectively bred and nurtured over the years to the amazing qualities we find today.
The lore surrounding Kobe beef is the stuff of legends. Believe it or not, Kobe cattle raised in Japan have historically come mostly from small farms of 5-7 head, the larger ones having between 10 and 15 animals! Elsewhere, as in the US, they can be several hundred strong. The amount of care given these animals in Japan is truly amazing! The rumors that they are given massages and drink beer or sake are, in fact, true (at least historically!) – but not for the reasons you might think. The scarcity of land in Japan has ensured small pen sizes in which to raise the animals and they were massaged to relieve muscle stiffness, believing that a happier cow would produce better meat. Recent scientific tests, however, have disproven this theory, and massage is becoming a waning practice performed only by the most old-school farms in Japan. It is not practiced in the US, where Kobe cattle have more free space to roam and are less prone to muscle stiffness. The giving of alcoholic beverages is also true, but was first given to stimulate the animal’s appetites during the summer months, when warmer weather caused the animals to eat less.
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Cow in the raw, anyone? Called Yukkei, it is completely raw, mixed with a sweet shoyu sauce, and served with raw egg, raddish sprouts, lettuce, and finely-sliced apple - Yakiniku Hiroshi's. |
The Japanese farmers were so meticulous and quality-oriented that another standard practice was to brush the animals coats with sake, believing it would soften the skin, promote shine, and again, keep the animals happy. Myself, I could care less about what the white trench coats in the lab say - I think the whopping doses of TLC given the animals in Japan does have a great influence on the outcome of the beef, just like a mother’s love makes her home-made beef stew or apple pie better than anyone else’s!
The Kobe strain has been exported to farms in countries like the US, Canada, Australia, and England, where they are sometimes mixed with other strains but still called Kobe beef. For this reason and others, there is often confusion as to what Kobe beef really is. To meet the genuine standards of Kobe, it must, besides being of a pure-bred Kobe strain, also meet certain qualifications from a Japanese scale of measuring, of which the BMS (beef marbling scale) is the most important. This measure determines the amount of marbling on a scale of 1-12. The highest grade level on an American scale is called prime, followed by choice, select, and standard. Prime actually runs at about a level 5 or 6 on a Japanese BMS table. In comparison, Kobe normally reaches the astounding levels of 9 or 10, which means it sails right off the American charts!
There is also further confusion regarding Kobe and another term that has been gaining attention recently, and that is Wagyu beef. Wagyu simply means Japanese beef – that’s it! Needless to say, that could encompass a whole range of breeds and quality scales. However, it usually does mean a higher-quality beef in general, as the pursuit of premium cows in Japan as a whole is taken to an almost fanatical level. Some other strains of Japanese cattle, like those bred in the Kagoshima, Matsuzaka, and Mishima island area, are so good they can sometimes equal Kobe.
Regardless, you are now ready to walk into a yakiniku restaurant for some serious bovine conversation (I make up words once in a while), even though they may not have any idea what you are talking about!
Recent Closings: Yakiniku Toraji.
Da Big Boy: Yakiniku Hiroshi’s for quality's sake, for sure, but don't discount Gyu-Kaku, which also carries a fun, modern atmosphere and great-tasting yakiniku meats at more economical prices.
Yakiniku Hiroshi. A Closer Look. 339 Royal Hawaiian Ave. in Waikiki. 923-0060. Dinner nightly till 11pm. Validated parking at the Waikiki Business Plaza at 2270 Kalakaua Ave. Prices: $$$$. Map. The crème de la crème of yakiniku in Hawaii. A must-try for meat lovers everywhere. Owner Hiroshi Kimura is well-versed in the various quality levels of beef, and gets most of his cuts from Snake River Farms in Idaho, where they grow Kobe cattle and do differentiate between different grades. Hiroshi-san accepts nothing outside of the top 1% (yes, I did say one percent!) of all beef grown in the US, with premium cuts actually often inside of 0.007%! The 3 thin-cut US Kobe beef offerings at the top of the menu all carry the silky-soft, whitish sheen of fat that characterizes these cuts, and are the obvious choices. They are expensive for the small size (about $20), but have such a high fat content that your stomach is quickly filled, ensuring that you won’t be able to eat very many servings. Previous to trying Yakiniku Hiroshi’s, my most amazing dining experiences were solely attributed to several brushes with foie gras at different high-end restaurants, but certain nights at Hiroshi’s, when they happened to have particularly top-shelf cuts, rank right up there with the best of ‘em! If the decadence is too much for you to handle, there are also lesser cuts of USDA prime like kal-bi and thin-sliced rib-eye that just may do the trick, as well as shrimp, scallop, and other, more modest meat and veggie choices to grill. Another great thing to try is the yukkei, listed as Asian steak tartar, and consists of raw beef mixed in a light, slightly sweet soy sauce and served with sliced apple or pear. The egg soup (similar to the Chinese egg flower soup) is also outstanding, and comes in a large bowl substantial enough for two. I can’t say enough about this place so I better stop here!
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Fatty pork and garlic grilling at the more economical of Japanese yakiniku spots on the island, Gyu-Kaku. |
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Gyu-Kaku. A Closer Look. 2 locations: 1221 Kapiolani Blvd. near Ala Moana S.C. (map shown), 589-2989, dinner nightly, Sunday-Monday late-night till 11pm, Friday and Saturday late-night till 12am, parking behind building on Hopaka st.; and 307 Lewers St. in Waikiki, 926-2989, dinner nightly, late night till 12am, parking on street or in public parking around area. Prices: $$$. Map. Gyu-Kaku is the most economical of the Japanese yakiniku restaurants, but don’t discount meals here. The atmosphere is modern and stylish, but comfortable enough to relax in the high-backed booths which offer a good deal of privacy. The meats are not quite as quality-oriented and have heavier sauces and marinades (many prefer this approach) than the other restaurant, but since the standards of beef are so high in this category, even the least qualified here can be much better than most other sections covered.
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