Gyūtan facts for kids

Gyūtan (牛タン) is a special Japanese dish. It is made from grilled beef tongue. The name "gyūtan" comes from two words: "gyū" (牛), which means cow in Japanese, and "tan," which is the English word for tongue.

In Japan, "gyūtan" can also just mean a cow's tongue. This dish first started in Sendai in 1948. In Sendai, it is usually served as a set meal. This meal includes barley rice, tail soup, and pickles. In other parts of Japan, you often find gyūtan at yakiniku restaurants.

Gyūtan was first made to be eaten with salt. That is why it is often called tanshio (タン塩, lit. "tongue salt") in many yakiniku places. But now, some restaurants also serve gyūtan with a special tare sauce.

History of Gyūtan

Gyūtan was created by Sano Keishirō. He owned a yakitori restaurant in Sendai. In 1948, Sano opened a new restaurant that focused on cow tongue dishes. This restaurant was named Tasuke (太助). It is still known as one of the best places to eat gyūtan in Sendai today.

Many local people in Sendai believe that Sano started using cow tongues and tails that were left over by soldiers. These soldiers were part of the occupation forces in Sendai after World War II. However, the restaurant's official website says that Sano got his ingredients by traveling to Yamagata Prefecture by steam train.

At first, gyūtan was seen as a very unusual dish. But over time, it became more and more popular across Japan. This was partly because white-collar workers who moved from Sendai told others about the tasty dish in new cities.

Beef Imports and Gyūtan

Gyūtan restaurants became even more popular in 1991. This was when Japan stopped limiting how much beef could be brought into the country. This made it easier to get beef tongues.

In 2003, the Japanese government temporarily stopped importing beef from the United States. This happened after a disease called mad cow disease was found there. This was a big problem for many gyūtan restaurants. For example, about 90% of the beef tongues used in Sendai's gyūtan restaurants came from the U.S. Some people who really love gyūtan even say that U.S. beef has the perfect amount of fat for the dish. They sometimes do not like to use beef from Australia.

Images for kids

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  Gyūtan served as a set meal in Sendai

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  Gyūtan prepared as karaage (Japanese fried chicken style)