Yakimono-Japanese traditional grilled foods
JAPANESE FOODS
19.10.2017
This time I would like to present about Yakimono – Japanese style grilled foods. Yakimono plays an important role in Japanese meals right after Sashimi (raw sliced fish).This is a very simple and uncomplicated dish to make although there are are still some really difficult parts. Yakimono are dishes using beef, chicken, fishes, vegetables… which are cleaned properly and then grilled on fire.
Mainly, there are 3 kinds of Yakimono in Japanese cuisine: Jibiyaki (directly grilled on fire), Kansetsuyaki (indirectly grilled) and Kushiyaki (grilled with skewers). Today I would like to introduce two popular recipes: Shioyaki (grilled with salt) and Teriyaki (grilled with Teri sauce). Among all of them, the simplist one is Shioyaki, only by processing the ingredients, sprinkling salt over then simply grilling it directly over the flame. But this can make the pure delicious taste of the materials stand out. By this simple way we can deeply feel the materials’ inherent flavours. Yakimono’s garnish are vegetables soaked in sweet vinegar. Frequently used ones are Myoga (Japanese ginger) or Daikon (Japanese white radish)…
Especially, grated white radish is indispensable. Why? Because the grilling method produces dangerous chemicals. But by putting white radish on the Yakimono, the pungency component will inhibit their effects and make them harmless.
Next let’s come to Teriyaki. Different from the simple Shioyaki, the ingredients will be grilled without any seasoning or cooking oil and then using a brush to brush the meat with Terishoyu (sauce used for making Teriyaki) while grilling it. By doing this a couple of times, “teri” (which means glaze) will appear, that’s why it is called Teriyaki. Because Teriyaki’s sauce is made from Sake (Japanese alcohol), Shoyu (soy sauce), Mirin (sweet rice wine used in cooking) and sugar, it has sweet and stunning taste. This is an article about Teriyaki Chicken, please have a look for more information.
Only with these two different styles of grilling, I think I can not express all wonderful things of Yakimono. But I am sure that once you try, you will be absolutely into it.
Please don’t miss this special dish!
My name is Nguyen Ba Phuoc. I'm from Hanoi, Vietnam. I'm such deeply interested in Washoku that I came to Japan in April, 2015 to study about it. After graduating from Japanese Language School, I went to an Academy for Culinary Arts until now. I'm living in Muroran, Hokkaido. My part-time job is cooking in a hotel. I love cooking and traveling. From now on, I will write articles about Japanese Food Culture, including modern food and traditional Washoku every month. Thank you very much.
