The Art Of Japanese Barbeque

Japanese cuisine has long been seen as a gastronomic experience saved for the most elite of palates, while touching the variants of how raw food, it shows how it can be transformed into an explosion of freshness in your mouth, the meat( referring to the protein used like beef, pork, chicken and a tremendous representation of seafood) and the herbs used hit differently giving you the illusion of having more than the 5 elemental taste buds. While the aspect of spice, like in cuisines we have grown up eating reside more on the heavier side, Japanese culture trusts its minimalism, not only in cuisine but also their overall sense of culture, the most transparent of which, can be seen in their clothes, the use of a subdued color palette with the dichotomy of abundance of sakura flowers and the use of red within Japan itself makes it quite a sight of wonder. 

Logo of the Restaurant 

Coming to the crux of this post, I, whilst wandering the streets of Ho Chi Minh happened upon Uraetei-BBQ Japan. With an outward wooden box structure, the restaurant was just as the name suggested, the inside being separated into benches, all encompassed within different sections in the restaurant, some against each other and the others conveniently placed in a horizontal structure. All the tables have a barbecue compartment built in between them, which can be conveniently used as per order. We entered around 9:30 PM, which according to the Vietnamese timeline is pretty late for dinner, as they generally have theirs around 6:30 to 7, thus we didn't have to wait to be seated. Japanese cuisine has created a unique and magnanimous presence in Vietnam, with establishments showcasing a variety of their cuisine. While there are some restaurants like Hoikado Sacchi offering sushi and the art of raw food as their primary sell, others like this establishment are seen to be as the middle ground in terms of offering both high-culture cuisine and the sense of the street with the option of a barbecue. This is facilitated in terms of price as well, as Uraetei is much cheaper than all sushi establishments. 

Marinated Chicken and Spiced Okra 

Coming to the items we ordered and the presentation of the same, coleslaw and their traditional oyster sauce was served first, as a prerequisite to every meal. As I had come with my parents, we had limited choices in preferences of protein, so we all went with chicken, but they have numerous varieties like beef and pork in meats and squid and oyster among others in seafood. Upon exploring the menu, I discovered that the Japanese indulge in the parts of the animal that we would have never imagined edible, i.e beyond the conventional pork belly or undercut, there was pork uterus, the chicken skin without the meat as well as beef kidney on the menu. We settled on two types of chicken, one barbeque with their sauce marination, the other, deep fried chicken(after all, we Indians love our fried stuff). For sides, we chose to go with the okra(lady finger) and corn, both to be finished on the grill. The barbeque pit was filled with burning coal followed by a serrated grill being placed into the pit. 

Barbeque in Progress

The chicken is lean with very little fat on the meat, the cut having more fiber and sinew. The okra is firm, but pre-boiled to be cooked on a soft flame. The tongs have been given to alternate the sides and cook it according to preference. The chicken had a slightly sour taste, which emerges due to the use of soy sauce and a slight spice rub. Accompanied by the coleslaw, which was crisp and fresh with shreds of radicchio, green lettuce, carrots, and other fresh herbs with a mild mayonnaise dressing, it brings out a variety of textures quite effortlessly. The Okra, upon tasting, comes out as sweet and soft, as it has been boiled in mild sugar water before being brought out. The use of fresh ingredients is very important for Japanese cuisine as they would need to hold their preemptive state, not only for presentation but also for it to cook and come out properly. The sweet okra compliments the sour and tangy chicken wonderfully, keeping a certain balance in your palate. The other dish, being the deep fried chicken isn't the same as the crumb fried chicken we find in outlets like KFC but rather a baked concoction which is shallow fried in a deep fryer for an even crisp. This was served with a lime, some more coleslaw, and a mayonnaise and carrot dip to go with the chicken, which had a great consistency and went rather well.

Finally, the corn which was cut into quarters was also boiled in sugar water and then cooked on the barbeque until it was slightly charred. Perhaps one thing not up to our Indian tongue's liking was the lack of salt in the side dishes. The subtle nuance is what gives Japanese cuisine its name, thus the seasonings were provided on the side rather than on the dishes themselves, a coarse mixture of salt and pepper and a chilli powder for taste. The drinks accompanying the meal was fresh orange and lime juice, with hardly any sugar, so that the taste of the fruit would shine. This is not only better in case of health but also tastes so much better than the preservative-laden juices we find in the market.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and something completely different than the sushi culture, which illustrated more of a disciplined and more oriental flair whilst barbeque reminded me more of street food in the lives of the common people. This part of Japanese cuisine turned out to be more informal and wonderfully exciting to explore.



P.S- I know it has been a very long time( an understatement) since I've posted. Well, in my defense college was...hard, to say the least, and I had my reasons to break away from some good habits because there was a lot going on. But I hope this post is good enough to renew my readers' interest in my blog! and I will try and continue as much as I can. For now...I hope I could semi-successfully describe my introduction to this new aspect of Japanese cuisine!!

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Goodbye...my exploring humans.