Teppanyaki

The word "teppanyaki" is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means fried or broiled.

In Japan, teppanyaki may refer to any of a number of dishes cooked using a teppan, including okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and monjayaki, frequently with the hot plate located in the center of the diners' table.

Ingredients

Typical ingredients used for teppanyaki western style are beef, shrimp, scallops, lobster, chicken and assorted vegetables; Soybean oil is typically used to cook the ingredients, and for Japanese style are noodles (yakisoba), cabbage with sliced meat or seafood (okonomiyaki) which are cooked using regular vegetable oil, animal oil from fat or a mixture of both. In Japan, many teppanyaki restaurants feature Kobe beef. Side dishes of mung bean sprouts, zucchini (even though zucchini is not a popular vegetable in Japan and rarely found in the market), garlic chips or fried rice usually accompany the meal. Some restaurants provide sauces in which to dip the food. However, in Japan, only soy sauce is typically offered.

Origin

The originator of the teppanyaki-style steakhouse is the Japanese restaurant chain Misono, which introduced the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan in Japan in 1945.[1] They soon found that the cuisine was even more popular with foreigners than with the Japanese, who enjoyed both watching the skilled maneuvers of the chefs preparing the food as well as the cuisine, somewhat more familiar than more traditional Japanese dishes. As the restaurants became more popular tourist spots with non-Japanese, the chain introduced changes increasing the performance aspect of the chef's preparation, such as stacking round slices of onion in the shape of Mt. Fuji and lighting alcohol, usually vodka, contained within on fire, producing a flaming onion volcano. Non-tourists in Japan rarely eat at teppanyaki restaurants that feature western type of food as most of the ingredients are not part of the Japanese dietary system. The teppanyaki widely frequented by the Japanese are those which feature okonomiyaki, yakisoba or monjayaki which are very popular in Japanese cuisine.

The form of teppanyaki most familiar to North Americans consists of steak and other meats, along with vegetable accompaniments, and is often known by the name of hibachi, with the establishments often referred to as "Japanese steakhouses." In the United States, teppanyaki was made famous by the Benihana restaurant chain which opened its first restaurant in New York in 1964.[2] Benihana and other chains of teppanyaki steakhouses continue to place an emphasis on the chef performing a show for the diners, continuing to introduce new variations and tricks. The chef might juggle utensils, flip a shrimp into his/her shirt pocket, catch an egg in his/her hat, toss an egg up in the air and split it with a knife, flip flattened shrimp pieces into the diners' mouths, or arrange onion rings into fire-shooting volcanos.

The flaming onion volcano is a type of "food performance" demonstrated by chefs at some teppanyaki restaurants. It consists of a number of slices of onion stacked to look like Mount Fuji, which are set on fire and then doused in liquid that bubbles up like lava.
In the traditional preparation, an onion is sliced into layers, and one layer from the top or bottom of the stack is separated out. This stack is then separated into individual "rings". The largest, outermost, ring is used as the base, with its wider side down. The smaller rings are then stacked on top, forming an open cone. The rings can be stacked because they are wider on the bottom than the top.

After constructing the cone, oil is poured into the center through the open top, then diluted ethyl alcohol, and then the mixture is set on fire. The alcohol burns off in a few seconds, leaving a steam of unburned alcohol streaming out of the top like a smoking volcano.[3] For an added touch, teriyaki sauce can be poured in after the flames die down, and the oil, heated by the grill, will cause it to boil out out of the top like lava.
Another piece of equipment in the same family is a flattop grill, consisting of a flat piece of steel over circular burners and typically smaller and round like a Mongolian barbecue.