View source for Gyūtan

{{Short description|Japanese dish made from beef tongue}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2013}}
[[Image:Gyutan teishoku.JPG|thumb|right|Gyūtan [[teishoku]], a [[Table d'hôte]] of Gyūtan in [[Sendai, Miyagi|Sendai]]]]
[[Image:Gyutan karaage.jpg|thumb|right|Gyūtan [[karaage]]]]
{{Nihongo|'''Gyūtan'''|牛タン}} is a [[Japanese cuisine|Japanese food]] that is made from grilled [[beef tongue]].  The word gyūtan is a combination of the [[Japanese language|Japanese]] word for {{Nihongo|cow|牛|gyū}} and the English word ''tongue''.  Since gyūtan literally means "cow tongue," the word is also used to refer to cow tongues in [[Japan]].  The custom of cooking gyūtan originated in [[Sendai, Miyagi|Sendai]] in 1948, and is usually served with barley rice, tail soup, and pickles in the Sendai area.  In other areas in Japan, gyūtan is most often served in [[yakiniku]] restaurants.  Gyūtan was originally conceived to be flavored with [[salt]], which led to gyūtan being called {{Nihongo|tanshio|タン塩||lit. "tongue salt"}} in many yakiniku restaurants.  However, some stores now serve gyūtan with [[tare sauce|''tare'' sauce]].
==History==
Gyūtan was created when Sano Keishirō, 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 gyūtan in Sendai. Most locals falsely believe and even advertise that gyūtan started when Sano decided to use cow tongues and tails left over by [[Occupied Japan|occupation]] forces, which were stationed in Sendai after Japan was defeated in [[World War II]]. However, a simple check of the official restaurant website states that at the beginning the ingredients were retrieved by shopping trips via steam train to  adjacent [[Yamagata Prefecture]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Aji-Tasuke History|url=http://www.aji-tasuke.co.jp/history.php?PHPSESSID=d3dvedu8s679r4h5udh6kh62h6|website=www.aji-tasuke.co.jp|accessdate=29 April 2016}}</ref> Gyūtan was initially considered a rather unusual dish, but gradually gained popularity throughout Japan, partially because [[salaryman|white collar workers]] who were transferred from Sendai spread its reputation to other cities.
Gyūtan restaurants received a boost in 1991, when Japan's [[import quota]]s for beef were eliminated.  In 2003, the Japanese government temporarily banned [[United States|American]] beef imports after [[Bovine spongiform encephalopathy|mad cow disease]] was discovered in the country.  This was a devastating blow for many gyūtan restaurants.  For example, 90% of the beef tongues used in gyūtan restaurants in Sendai were imported from the U.S.  Additionally, some connoisseurs claim that U.S. beef contains the ideal amount of fat for gyūtan dishes and refuse to use [[Australia]]n beef.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.innerbrain.co.jp/gyutantop.htm Sendai Gyūtan-yaki Map] (in Japanese)
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[[Category:Culture in Sendai]]
[[Category:Japanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Japanese beef dishes]]
[[Category:Offal dishes]]