How do the Japanese grill at home?!
I've been wanting to make some grilled chicken and fish but I'm clueless about how a regular Japanese family does this at home. Do they use indoor grills? I'm talking about modern Japanese family, not the super traditional ones that use charcoal grilling. Would an indoor electrical one be okay or are there other methods I'm not unaware of?
Thanks!
Answers:
Japanese cook with toaster ovens a lot. It is very common to see toaster ovens at Japanese restaurants. Using toaster ovens to grill Japanese style fish is very convenient. Of course, an oven will also do the job.
If you're talking about yakiniku, then you got at least 3 options.
1) Electric grill: http://s4.thisnext.com/media/largest_dim…
2) Electric griddle/hot pot combination: http://www.jlifeinternational.com/Tiger/…
3) Yakiniku grill plate: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51… This goes on top of your regular stove burner or a portable gas stove looking like this: http://www.lghsales.com/portable-gas-sto…
Have fun. :)
There are some portable, indoor hibachi grills on the website below. I am sure that they would be perfect for preparing the dishes of your childhood.
http://www.backyardcity.com/grills/Porta…
My Japanese family use a portable Yakiniku grill plate that either runs of gas or electricity.
Japan Australia Blog
http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/sear…
With great difficulty!
There are two main ways to grill at home: Broiler, and the electric griddle.
Modern Japanese families use an electric broiler oven for grilling. They buy a special grilling pan, put the fish/chicken/etc. in the pan and broil it. You don't need a special grilling pan - the standard broiler pan that came with your oven works fine. Turn on the broiler, arrange the oven rack about 3" from the top heating element. Prepare your meat, put it on the broiler pan, stick it in the oven. Turn when half done (depends on the thing being grilled) and put it back in to finish.
A broiler is essentially an upside down grill. Almost anything you can do with direct heat on a grill, you can do with a broiler.
The other thing they use is essentially an electric griddle. The Japanese models look like a large frying pan with an electric heating element on the bottom. This allows you to cook meat, make okonomiyaki (a type of Japanese seafood pancake) or do various nabemono dishes like sukiyaki. The square-ish pan models found in America work just fine.
If you're thinking of things like yakitori, either grilling device will work. Even a pan on the burner or a George Foreman Grill would work as well - but I think you'll like the broiler method better as it allows you get a bit of char on your food.
If you're thinking of things like grilled saba fish, use the broiler. That's the method home cooks use in Japan.
No I didn't mention the "Japanese steak house" method because...that's not actually Japanese. It was invented in America, albeit by a Japanese chef..named Mr. Benihana.