How to eat negitan-shio | Only cook these thin slices of spring onion – smothered tongue on one side!
Negitan-shio is a yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) classic consisting of thin slices of tan (tongue meat) smothered in negi (spring onion), and simply seasoned in shio (salt-forward flavor) style. When your server brings your order, you might have difficulty spotting the slices of meat under all of the spring onion! A common pitfall is for the spring onion to fall off during cooking, leaving nothing but naked meat left on the grill. Not to worry – we’ve got some expert advice on how to enjoy this tricky dish the smart way!
【Advised by】Yakiniku Horumon Mori-chan（焼肉ホルモン モリちゃん）
Table of Contents
Grill the tongue on one side only!
First, use the tongs to transfer a slice of tongue onto the grill. The trick to prevent the spring onion from falling off is to move the plate close to the grill, and angle it so that you can transfer the tongue in a sliding motion.
After sliding the meat onto the grill, listen for the sizzling sound as you wait for the tongue to cook. Only cook the meat from one side. Flipping the meat will cause the spring onions to fall off, so subdue the urge to touch it. Indeed, the waiting is the hardest part!
Use a spatula for even cooking
You can tell the cooking progress by observing the surface of the tongue. You’ll see some parts start to turn brown, while other parts remain red. Carefully reposition the meat with a spatula for even cooking.
Roll up and enjoy
Once the entire top surface of the tongue has changed color, it’s time to eat! Again, use the spatula to carefully transfer to a serving plate.
Stave off your hunger for a few more seconds as you complete one last essential step – fold the meat in half, as pictured here. Enclosing the negi (spring onions) in the fat from the tan (tongue) creates a perfectly balanced bite.
When you pick up the tongue with chopsticks, try to pinch the edges closed. Together, the texture of the spring onions combined with the luscious fat from the tongue create a mouthful of bliss. If you’ve ever been intimidated by negitan-shio before, please try out these tips the next time you go for yakiniku!
* The published information is current as of August 2022. Prices and other details are subject to change.
This yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) restaurant chain is styled with a retro, Showa-era vibe. Their signature “Traditional Negitan-shio Yaki” combines perfectly-seasoned spring onions with luscious beef tongue into a harmony of flavor and texture. This is a wonderful dish to enjoy alongside your favorite beverages. There are a number of locations centered on Tokyo. Yakiniku Horumon Mori-chan Ochanomizu Restaurant kindly provided the photography venue for this article.
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