Gyutan

, which lead to gyutan being called tanshio (tongue salt; タン塩) in many yakiniku restaurants. However, some stores now serve gyutan with "tare" sauce.

History

Gyutan was created when Sano Keishiro, the owner of a yakitori restaurant in Sendai, opened a new restaurant that served cow tongue dishes in 1948. This restaurant was called Tasuke (太助), and is still considered one of the best places to eat gyutan in Sendai. Sano decided to open this restaurant to use cow tongues and tails left over by occupation forces, which were stationed in Sendai after Japan was defeated in World War II. Gyutan was initially considered a rather unusual dish, but gradually gained popularity throughout Japan, partially because white collar workers that were transferred from Sendai spread its reputation to other cities.

Gyutan restaurants received a boost in 1991, when Japan's import quotas for beef were eliminated. In 2003, the Japanese government temporarily banned United States beef imports after the mad cow disease was discovered in the country. This was a devastating blow for many gyutan restaurants. For example, 90% of the beef tongues used in gyutan restaurants in Sendai were imported from the U.S. Additionally, some purists claim that U.S. beef contains the ideal amount of fat for gyutan dishes and refuse to use Australian beef. Since cow tongues may have high amounts of the prion protein that causes the mad cow disease, the future of gyutan is rather ambiguous.

External links

* [http://dining.in-japan.jp/2007/05/speaking_in_tongues_at_shinobu.html Gyutan Restaurant in Yotsuya, Tokyo]

References

Much of the content of this article comes from [http://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E7%89%9B%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3&oldid=2996110 the equivalent Japanese-language wikipedia article] (retrieved September 21, 2005). The following reference is cited by the Japanese-language article.
* [http://www.innerbrain.co.jp/gyutantop.htm Sendai Gyutan-yaki Map] (in Japanese)