Recommended gourmet food in Osaka

Yakiniku, a local specialty of Osaka, is starting to be recognized as a new staple gourmet dish among foreign tourists.

When talking about meat, in Osaka, beef is the first thing that comes to mind. Beef and offal are grilled over an open flame and eaten with a sauce. This style of eating was established in the Showa era. In the 1940s, Shokudoen was founded in Sennichimae, Osaka. Along with Meigetsukan in Tokyo, it is known as the originator of yakiniku.

Its roots lie in Korea, where the restaurant would grill the meat. The "tsuke-dare" style, where customers dipped various cuts of meat in sauce as they grilled them, was developed in Japan. Furthermore, with the arrival of smokeless roasters, yakiniku became a treat that the whole family could enjoy. Osaka is said to have the greatest number of yakiniku restaurants in Japan, and there are many of them throughout the prefecture. In Minami and Kita, there is a wide variety of restaurants, from high-end establishments to popular all-you-can-eat options.

Furthermore, Tsuruhashi is a yakiniku paradise, where the smell of yakiniku fills the air as soon as you step out of the station. Tsuruhashi, the largest Korean town in the Kansai region, is lined with numerous yakiniku restaurants, along with shops selling kimchi and Korean ingredients. There are also chiritori nabe and motsunabe, which specialize in offal. Chiritori nabe is called chiritori nabe because the shallow, square pot resembles a chiritori. Motsunabe uses a broth made from chicken stock or bonito broth. The ingredients are similar, including beef offal such as tongue, tetchan, and tripe, as well as plenty of vegetables like onions, bean sprouts, and chives. It's an affordable, nutritious dish that Osaka is proud of.