Not to burst your bubble about Japan, but the Japanese language can be kind of racist...using descriptions of a culture as the name of a food or person.
Like Caucasians are literally "white people" in Japanese and colored people (can you still say that?!) are literally "black people" in Japanese.
Anyway, Genghis Khan uses lamb as the main ingredient of this dish which apparently was the protein of choice of the Mongol soldiers back in the day.
The convex shaped pan that the dish is cooked on apparently resembles the Mongol soldiers helmets which they used to cook their foods on. (photo from internet)
Apparently the Japanese government had intended to increase their sheep flocks in 1918 but most of the sheep farms around Japan were destroyed with the only 2 sheep farms surviving in Hokkaido.
The convex shaped pan that the dish is cooked on apparently resembles the Mongol soldiers helmets which they used to cook their foods on. (photo from internet)
Apparently the Japanese government had intended to increase their sheep flocks in 1918 but most of the sheep farms around Japan were destroyed with the only 2 sheep farms surviving in Hokkaido.
Which is why you can easily find lamb to consume at their markets.
(photo fro the internet)
I had recently seen an episode of "Kodoku no Gurume" and he had eaten Genghis Khan.
(photo fro the internet)
While at the market yesterday, I ran across lamb from New Zealand (top photo), so using my grill pan, I cooked up some lamb for our dinner.
This dish is usually served with moyashi (bean sprouts) but the market I had bought the lamb at didn't have any! so I just served it with the veggies I had at home.
The meat was tender but there was also lots of fat and some gristle.
The sauce that came with the lamb was shoyu based, a little sweet from apple and punch from a little ginger and onion.
I would definitely buy lamb again especially if I come across Hokkaido lamb, to make this dish again.
If someone were to ask if I wanted lamb, I would say no. But being to Hokkaido's Sapporo Beer Garden, It was pretty good. Not brave enough to buy my own but my sister and boss regularly cook it. I think now days, it tastes and smells better than before.
ReplyDeleteI love moyashi on a yakiniku or genghis khan pan.
v
LOVED this on our two trips to Hokkaido. Wish we had found a place in Tokyo.
ReplyDeleteI still don't understand how lamb still has that "gamey" stigma, etc. You season/marinate any meat enough and it'll smell and taste good! I've seen 'em do it on all the J-cooking shows!
FYI my favorite show on NGN is "Manten Aozora Restaurant." I never heard of Miyagawa until this show and don't care if he's in anything else. This show is THE GREATEST.
I'm in the V Camp.
ReplyDeleteThis brings back memories of having Jingisukan at the Sapporo Birgarten in Sapporo. We wondered why we were given plastic bags for our jackets......man, we had to store our clothes from dinner in those plastic bags for washing later on the trip in Tokyo!
ReplyDeleteV, my mom would always order rack of lamb whenever we ate out and it was on the menu. I think lamb has gotten less gamey over the years.
ReplyDeleteSaburo, had to look up what show you were talking about as I had never watched it before:)
Jalna :)
oh man Kirk any time there is cooking over a grill or flattop, there is bound to be stinky clothes afterwards...
Take care everyone.
Kat
I loves me some lamb, and for me, the best I've had always came from France (Provence). oh, and it didn't sound terribly racist to read that in Japan 'colored' people are called black. I think it sounds more racist to see Japanese things descriped as jap here in Italy, but I believe they don't have a clue!
ReplyDeleteRowena, I notice many Singaporeans also say "Jap". Like when they are eating Japanese food they call it "Jap" food, which really turns me off.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
We don’t use the term you used, the term is Black people with the capital B. I know you’ve been out of the states for some time but the term you’ve used is actually offensive. It’s like using the word “oriental” because it harkens back to a racist time when Japanese / Chinese / Korean etc. people were discriminated against. African American denotes people of African origin but due to slavery many people cannot trace their roots, in that case we say the person is a Black person. Also the correct term back in the States is Caucasian or white person, though white person is more common.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon for the clarification.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat