Yakiniku (grilled Meat): What Sauces And Ingredients To Use?

Yakiniku is a popular Japanese dish that originated from Korea. It is a special kind of barbecue whereby small pieces of meat and vegetables are cooked on a table grill. In addition, most homes and restaurants throughout Japan use different sauces for the dish. 

Yakiniku Ingredients

The following are some of the main of ingredients used in the preparation of Yakiniku:
  • Beef sukiyaki; around 400 grams
  • One finely chopped onion
  • One finely chopped green paprika

Yakiniku @ Ski Ya HotPot Shabu&BBQ by nSeika
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License by nSeika

When it comes to Yakiniku, pork and beef are the most common choices. It all depends on your personal preferences. Various restaurants also specialize in horuman. These are fatty and tender pieces of beef that work particularly when lift to simmer over the grill for some few minutes until the fat starts to melt. 

Yakiniku Nigiri - Shira Nui AUD4.50 each by avlxyz
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License by avlxyz - Yakiniku Nigiri

Yakiniku Dipping sauces

Yakiniku is often basted with a sauce while being grilled. However, you can also choose to dip the slices of meat right into the sauce after your done cooking. There are usually three to four different kinds of sauces:

  • Soy sauce based dip
  • Miso based dip
  • Spicy garlic oil sauce

These are some of the most common sauces used with Yakiniku. In addition, they tend to be very garlicky and strongly flavored with onions.

Some of the common dishes served with Yakiniku include different salads, white rice, miso soup and gyoza. In Japan, Yakiniku is a very popular dish for large families or group gatherings. It is cooked through an interactive process that allows the use of different flavors. This is one of the main reasons why it has become so popular across a huge number of western countries.

Lunch is served by singingbeagle
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License by singingbeagle

Most Japanese people serve Yakiniku in their homes and during parties. The shichirin used to cook the dish can be purchased in most retail shops throughout Japan. In addition, most of the dining tables used in Japanese households have an in-built shichirin. 

Japanese BBQ

Korean Barbecue and Yakiniku Connection

Even though most people consider Yakiniku to be a Japanese dish, it is usually referred to as a Korean barbecue in most parts of Asia. Japanese people believe that these unique table-cooked dishes were inspired by the Korean dishes bulgogi and galbi. However, Yakiniku is not typically marinated like these other dishes. In addition, a huge number of restaurants in Japan currently specialize in making the dish.