Our family used to live in Sendai city for 5 years because of my job. Beginning of this June, our family took trip around Miyagi prefecture at 38 years after leaving Sendai. We decided to enjoy the dish of Sendai Gyutan-Yaki (grilled beef tongue) at the end event of this travel. This plan has been completed at the restaurant ‘Kisuke’ which opened the shop in the Sendai station building ‘S-PAL’ which opened when we were living there.
Thick grilled beef tongue, rice with wheat grains, miso with pepper, tail soup were in the meal. I ordered tororo(tororo potato) for children. Soft grilled beef tongue, rice mixed with very small amount of wheat grains, mild taste tail soup with floating thin sliced onion and Miso with pepper. I had almost forgotten those taste. This is Sendai gourmet food which I haven’t tasted for long time.
The originator of beef tongue cooking is ‘Tasuke’ restaurant which was located at Inari path when I moved to Sendai. This path is located between famous and big Ichibandho street and Kokubun street where bars and clubs were crowded. This path is more familiar to Yakitori restaurants with red Noren (short curtain on entrance) and Ramen restaurant with Noren rather than modern Bar.
When I started work at Sendai as branch manager, Previous branch manager was on business trip. He doesn’t drink sake and said ‘let me have Gyutan dish without drinking Sake’ . the restaurant ‘Taske’ was busy restaurant at that time. However the shop was not more than famous local good restaurant.
Sendai Gyutan Yaki and Tasuke restaurant got famous in Tokyo area long time after when our family left Sendai and Tohoku Shinkansen opened. Restaurants related to Tasuke opened shops in Tokyo and I take lunch for Gyutan Yaki at the restaurant whoes name has ‘suke’ letter in New Shinbashi building’s basement floor when I have to goto Shinbashi.
This Gyutan food material used be almost thrown out material like viscera (Motsu) or tail (Teiru). When time of the poor food supply right after the war, those beef sub material could be got from American army camp in cheap price and people started to use those for material for restaurant. It is well known that Keishiro Sano who was running Yakitori restaurant ‘Tasuke’ at Inari path in Sendai started this menu at 1948.
Skin of beef tongue is taken off and both side of relatively thick sliced tongue is cut shallow. Put salt and pepper on it and leave it in refrigerator for several days. When customer comes, grill it on front of customer. It was not the snack for drinking , it is main dish for dinner. This cooking became ‘Mugi toro’ dinner which reflects social situation at that time.
Gyutan-Yaki became getting popular and spread to all over Japan by business men transferred to local offices. Main force of spread was the ‘Kisuke’ restaurant which opened in Sendai Station building S-PAL in 1975. It spread all over Japan in the moment when Tohoku Shinkansen opened. Very successful Sendai Gyutan-Yaki restaurants are now more than 100 which lead by ‘Tasuke’ at top.
(Yoshihiro Fujiwara June. 30th, 2019)
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