Enhancing the softness of meat and sweetness of fat, sukiyaki is one of the best ways to enjoy wagyu beef in Japan. This article will explain the differences between Kanto and Kansai sukiyaki, along with the history of the dish and recommended sukiyaki restaurants.
What Is Sukiyaki?
The cooked meat is wonderful on its own but can also be dipped in a small bowl of whisked raw egg, creating a mellow, creamy taste as the yolk clings to the hot meat.
The song Ue o Muite Aruko by Kyu Sakamoto, which reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100, was released overseas with the title Sukiyaki to reflect its Japanese origin, showing that the dish had even become familiar to Americans as well.
The History of Sukiyaki
Although sukiyaki is one of Japan's most iconic dishes, the Japanese did not regularly eat meat until the latter half of the 19th century. Due to the strong influences of Buddhism, Emperor Tenmu ordered a ban on meat in 675, and for 1,200 years until the late 1800s, the Japanese avoided eating meat, at least publicly.
This changed as the shogunate's 200-year policy of isolation (limiting exchange and trade with other countries) ended in the mid-19th century. Areas began to be inhabited by foreigners, and the demand for meat increased, which suppliers met by opening gyunabe (beef pot) restaurants that served beef cooked Japanese style.
Unlike the sukiyaki of today, gyunabe was flavored with miso. This is because the beef that was available was tough and had a strong odor, so miso was used to soften it out. Over the years, the quality of beef improved, and soy sauce and sugar replaced miso. By 1877, there were more than 550 gyunabe restaurants in Tokyo.
Image: Yakushi-ji, a World Heritage Site built by order of Emperor Tenmu in 680.
As gyunabe grew popular in Tokyo, sukiyaki became a staple dish in the Kansai area of Japan, centered around Osaka and Kyoto. Sukiyaki at the time was prepared by grilling beef in a flat pot, eating it, and then cooking vegetables in the leftover beef fat, making it very different from today's sukiyaki, where meat and vegetables are cooked together.
Modern sukiyaki became popular after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Gyunabe restaurants in Tokyo and across the greater Kanto region were badly damaged, so sukiyaki restaurants from Kansai began expanding into Tokyo and serving Kanto-style sukiyaki, which combined the Kansai method of grilling the meat with Kanto’s warishita (sukiyaki broth) flavoring.
Image: The Ehrismann Residence, a reproduction of a western-style house built in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, which was a foreign settlement district.
How Sukiyaki Is Prepared Today in Kansai and Kanto
Kansai-style sukiyaki sees the meat grilled in a pot and flavored with sugar and soy sauce to be eaten first. Vegetables and other ingredients are then added to the pot and cooked in soy sauce, sugar, and sake. While the sauce is simmering, more meat is added while the water from the vegetables mellows out the flavor.
Compared to Kansai-style sukiyaki, where the meat is enjoyed separately from the vegetables, Kanto-style sukiyaki spreads the umami flavors of the meat and vegetables evenly throughout the dish.
So, be sure to try both Kanto and Kansai sukiyaki and see which you prefer!
Recommended Restaurants to Enjoy Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki Jyuniten (Tokyo)
Sukiyaki Jyuniten prides itself on top-quality wagyu beef chosen by professionals. The best beef is procured from across the entirety of Japan, regardless of brand name or where it was raised.
There are several courses for different cuts, such as red meat, marbled meat, or chateaubriand, but if you want to indulge in top-notch wagyu beef, the [(Dinner) Sukiyaki Course Japanese Black Wagyu (Meat) OMAKASE] (22,000 JPY) is recommended. The course includes sukiyaki made with the highest-grade A5 Japanese black wagyu beef, as well as sashimi of carefully selected wagyu beef cuts, letting you relish an array of fantastic flavors that instantly melt in your mouth.
The sukiyaki is cooked Kansai-style with granulated sugar (which has a mellower flavor) and soy sauce. The dish is prepared in a spectacular performance right in front of your eyes, cooking the meat to perfection, and made even more delicious by Kyoto's brand-name Noko egg.
There are four private rooms of varying sizes that can be booked for between 1,100 JPY and 5,500 JPY, depending on the room size and number of people.
Sukiyaki Jyuniten
Closed: Irregular
Average price: [Dinner] 15,000 JPY / [Lunch] 2,000 JPY
Access: 5-minute walk from Marunouchi South Exit of Tokyo Station / 5-minute walk from International Forum Exit of Yurakucho Station / 3-minute walk from Exit 3 of Nijubashimae Station
Address: 3F, Brick Square, 2-6-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Map
More Details Reservation
Kitsune (Kintetsu Nara)
The [(Dinner) Full Course of Kitsune] (15,400 JPY) includes Yamato beef sukiyaki and other dishes made in a variety of different styles with Nara ingredients like maitake (hen-of-the-woods mushroom) soup and persimmon mixed with soft tofu.
Even among Japanese black wagyu, Yamato beef is a rare delicacy with limited availability. It is perfectly marbled with just the right balance of lean meat and fat, melting the moment it enters the mouth and unleashing a sumptuous sweetness.
Hojibancha tea is served at the end of the course, made by roasting tea leaves from Tsukigase in Nara Prefecture. It has a lovely aroma that makes for a perfect after-meal drink.
Nara is the ancient capital of Japan and is full of World Heritage Sites and other cultural properties, including Horyu-ji Temple, said to be the world's oldest existing wooden building. When in Nara, be sure to visit [Kitsune] after touring the sites to savor the flavors nurtured by Nara's nature.
Kitsune
Closed: Wednesday
Average price: [Dinner] 10,000 JPY / [Lunch] 4,000 JPY
Access: 5-minutes walk from Exit 1 of Kintetsu Nara Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line / Past Higashimuki Shopping Street, it's one street back from Sarusawa Pond
Address: Shika Saru Kitsune Building, 22, Ganriin-Cho, Nara-Shi, Nara Map
More Details Reservation
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