Jingisukan is Japanese for “Genghis Khan” (yes, that Genghis Khan). According to this website (in Japanese), there are a few schools of though of how this dish got its name, but it seems that the name jingisukan was created during Japan’s occupation of Manchuria or the dish itself is based on a dish that was made in Manchuria. However, Mongolia has no direct connection to jingisukan, except that sheep’s a major staple food in Mongolia.
When grilling and eating jingisukan for the first time, you will recognize the more gamey aroma. So, if you want to ease into it, we recommend ordering jingisukan that is marinated in a special sauce, which is shoyu-(soy sauce) based. The sauce does help with killing some of the gamey-ness.
From the pictures above, you can see that the grill is dome-shaped with the vegetables (bean sprouts and onions) on the bottom edges and the meat goes on dome. The juices from the meat and the sauce, if you choose marinated jingisukan, will drip down and help with cooking the vegetables.
If you love meat, give this local cuisine a try!
Coming soon:
Part 4 – Mt. Moiwa
Part 5 – COSTCO
Jet-Set Japan 