John Daub: This is a "kata rosu", or a cut from the shoulder.
21 kilograms ... it could feed a lot of people.
Tonight, we're going to be eating this.
Japanese wagyu is renowned around the world as being the juiciest,
and most tender. That A5-grade marbling is legendary!
But within Japan, there's so many wagyu beef brands. Are they any different?
This time I travelled to Shiga prefecture, just 8 minutes by train from Kyoto,
to the pastures of Omihachiman, where one of Japan's top 3 wagyu brands is raised.
This is the story of Omi beef. Farm to table.
Announcer: "Irasshaimase!" (Welcome!)
ONLY in JAPAN
John Daub: So here we are at Kyoto Station.
This is one of the biggest draws for people coming to visit Japan.
There's loads of history, culture, it's easy to know why.
There's so many people who come to Kyoto, but I want to give you another option!
If you're interested in food, especially wagyu, there's a place that's less than
10 minutes away, that I would consider to be "wagyu paradise".
From JR Kyoto Station Central Entrance, go over to Platform 2,
catch the "Shin-kaisoku Express" on the Biwa line, for Otsu Station,
just two stops away. This is your entry into Shiga prefecture.
So where exactly is Shiga prefecture, and Kyoto for that matter?
First, find Lake Biwa in the middle of "Honshu", Japan's main island.
Down on the bottom is the ancient city of Kyoto, and Otsu right next to it.
You'll find some of the best wagyu steak restaurants in Japan here.
To get to Omi cattle country, just follow Lake Biwa up to Omihachiman,
where 400 rivers stream life into this fertile region of Japan.
Welcome to Otsu, Shiga prefecture. Let's go eat some wagyu!
This is "Omigyu Morishima Omihachiman" restaurant, where the beef is sourced from
the ranch, straight to the restaurant. Joining me for this adventure is long-time
Kansai resident and chef, Kevin Riley, of Kuma's Kitchen.
We sat down with friends for our first "Omigyu" lunch, the chef special.
It's all beef.
Shabu-shabu mostly-beef salad, raw "Omigyu" sashimi and sushi,
and a delicious "Omigyu" curry.
Look at that marbling. This is A5-ranked "kuroge wagyu" beef.
Only 6,000 cattle from the region are designated with the "Omigyu" brand.
Here, it's about quality over quantity, and you can taste the difference.
Kevin and I headed out to the Morishima cattle farm and ranch,
for a peek inside to see how these "kuroge wagyu" live.
It's surrounded by woods, between the hills and the lake.
Right away, we were impressed with the cleanliness of everything.
The "Omigyu ushi" here have loads of fresh air, and they were very curious about
their visitors, popping their heads out, to get a closer look and say hello.
Kevin has raised cattle in Canada, and had a natural touch with them.
We came at lunchtime.
Kevin took a closer look.
Kevin Riley: This is like a mixture of basically oats, oatmeal, corn -
that's dried corn - and there are a couple little feed pellets in here, probably the
feed pellets have more protein in them.
This is all helping to build the meat on the cattle.
They really seem to like it.
For the second course, they're served dry grass, which is quite popular.
You get room to walk around in here, they'd be comfortable, and
I'd say, with this breeze coming through, it's fantastic in here, it's nice!
[John Daub chuckles] It's hot out there, and it's actually
really nice in here. John Daub: It's a controlled environment,
this is a stress-free environment for the wagyu. They're only two to a pen, they're
not crowded in here, there's a lot of fresh air coming in, and you can see the
outside, the sunshine, it's so quiet as well. This is a perfect area for
a "bokujo", or a ranch. Kevin Riley: Yeah.
I wish you could see the view behind us [chuckles] It's beautiful, out to the
mountains and everything, it's so flat out here, and just a really nice area to be
in. They try to pair them up, so that they don't have ... as long as you get with any
animal, you get one that's stronger than
the other, and they'll bully a little bit, to get the food, but they try to pair them
up here, the ones that get along well together, and really I haven't seen
anybody pushing anybody else out of the way to get the food.
So that again, there's no stress there.
This place is pretty clean. The one thing that I noticed when we
arrived here, you didn't get a smell of a farm.
No, it's very clean-smelling. I'm just smelling their feed right now,
and it smells good in here. Yeah, grass and nature. [laughs]
Exactly, yeah.
These guys in here all are very clean and well-looked after.
A five-star hotel for cattle, and their purpose, why they're here at all,
is to become beef. They're not pets, they're living creatures, and the way
I feel is that they're not dinner, until they're dinner! And until then, they
deserve all the respect and cheek massages in the world.
When the other wagyu see one of them getting a massage,
they all get kind of jealous, and curious.
And... she wants more. [laughs] She wants more.
Kevin and I left feeling very happy that Morishima's "ushi" are living peacefully,
until the end. Before starting this story, I talked with Morishima-san about the
history of Omi beef, and how beef became a part of Japanese cuisine.
It wasn't always this way.
Morishima Tokuo: (when it comes to Japanese beef brands,)
(until 40 or 50 years ago, Omi, Matsuzaka, and Kobe beef were the only three brands)
(that dominated the market.)
(There weren't really any other official brands beside them.)
(But in the last 20 to 30 years, many new beef brands emerged in Japan.)
(In reality, even the same Japanese "kuroge wagyu" beef)
(can vary significantly in quality and taste. Based on this, historically,)
("Kobe Beef", the name has been very well- known for a long time.)
(Similarly, "Matsuzaka Beef" was also a number one brand.)
(It seemed like "Omi Beef" ranked below these two brands, but,)
(in reality, ever since Japanese people started eating more beef)
(during the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras, the beef that was most wide shipped,)
(among the three famous brands, was actually Omi beef.)
(Tokyo received the largest shipments, and)
(the brand that was sending the most beef to Tokyo was Omi Beef.)
(This was probably because Omi was quick to set up business in Tokyo.)
(400 years ago, during the Sengoku period,)
(a lot of foreign missionaries came to spread Christianity,)
(and naturally brought their meat-eating culture to Japan.)
(But after this, under the Tokugawa shogunate, during)
(the Edo period, the government enforced)
(Buddhism for strategic political purposes, and)
(in Buddhist teachings, four-legged animals are not allowed to be eaten.)
(Corruption of the soul and karma was tied to eating meat.)
(That's why 200 or 300 years ago, people didn't eat meat, but that all changed)
(during the Meiji Restoration, when the country westernized.)
(Despite initial hesitation,)
(Japanese people soon fell in love with the tastiness of meat.)
(That's how "Bunmei Kaika" (modernisation/westernisation) created a)
("Gyu Nabe" (Beef Hot Pot) culture in Japan.)
(But this culture still only existed in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and other big cities.)
(In rural areas, beef was still too expen- sive, so not many people could eat it.)
John Daub: (Believe it or not, I've never eaten Omi beef.) [both laughs]
"Hayaku tabetai, tabetai!" (I can't wait to have it!)
I really wanted some premium cuts of "Omigyu", so we headed back to Otsu City,
to "Omi Kadoman", to raid their meat lockers, and feast!
They had all kinds of cuts, aging in well- sealed bags. Only A5-ranked beef here!
Every block comes with a 10-digit number for the wagyu database, to see the history
of the beef. You can always ask to see this, and check if it's authentic.
This is a pretty heavy cut.
(That's massive. It's probably quite expensive.)
Staff Member: (It is.) John Daub: (Must be over $1,000, right?!)
Staff Member: (This might be valued about $2,000.)
John Daub: (2,000? Amazing!)
They're pros here, with over 120 years of history serving "Omigyu".
This is an A5-ranked "kata rosu", or premium chuck eye roll,
near the neck and shoulders. The "akami" red meat is super tender,
and the fats are rich, although "Omigyu" is famous for its lighter oil taste.
Dinner is served. Kevin and I both get a full cut.
Everytime.
Cooked on a gas grill, I like mine done medium to melt the fats.
Just a little pink which brings out the flavors.
It doesn't get hard like red meat steaks.
Some like beer, but Japanese sake from the region is excellent! Highly recommended.
John Daub: "Kanpai!" (Cheers!) Kevin Riley: All right.
Yup, that's nice.
John Daub: So what do you think about... Kevin Riley: "Omigyu"?
Yeah, what do you think about going to the farm?
Seeing the wagyu and then coming to the restaurant and eat it?
Kevin Riley: No guilt whatsoever. John Daub: No guilt at all.
I do think, this is not the first time I've done a "farm to table" episode,
and I just feel a greater appreciation, knowing where the beef has come from, and
seeing that "Omigyu", this brand here in Shiga, really does a good job treating the
livestock, treating the "kuroge wagyu" very well, and you can taste it in the meat!
Definitely, it's delicious. The thing is, you talk about respecting,
we always respect the food we eat. In my household, that's just something that's
always done. We respect it, we eat it. It's the cycle of life.
It does have a slight difference, I'm starting to notice.
It's a very clean taste, don't you think?
It doesn't really sit strongly on the tongue.
It melts quite well- It's light.
Right, it's a very light oil, it melts quite well.
It just tastes different. I don't know if it's because of what they eat, or the
temperature, the weather, or the influence of being so close to Lake Biwa.
Kevin Riley: [chuckles] Who knows? John Daub: So many things have a very
strong effect on the way that - "kuroge wagyu" - that impacts the taste greatly.
I'd think so, I mean [unintelligible] feed a lot, definitely,
but also it's a great environment we were in there today, so that might have a big
influence on it too. It's my first time actually here in... [laughs]
Really? You're the Kansai guy too, and it's his first time!
Kevin Riley: And it's fantastic! John Daub: Yeah.
Kevin Riley: I really enjoyed today. John Daub: Yeah.
But wait, we have one more: Sukiyaki. [both laughs]
"Omigyu" sukiyaki is done somewhat different than in Tokyo.
The beef is cut in thin, longer slices. Just look at that marbling!
Kevin knows what to do with this. Japanese eggs are often eaten raw.
For sukiyaki, mix it up! This will become a dipping sauce.
Next, grab a slice of "Omigyu", and cook it in the pot.
I wasn't really sure how this works, but it's not too complicated at all.
The strips cook fast, and before making the sukiyaki stew,
Kevin adds a little sweet soy sauce to the meat.
After it soaks it up a bit, the fats and the sweet soy sauce flavors coming
together, put it in your raw egg bowl. Layer it on there, and enjoy!
The natural richness of the egg really makes a mouth-pleasing combination.
After a few pieces of "Omigyu", we started the sukiyaki stew,
with shiitake mushrooms, tofu and regional vegetables.
Honestly, this is a special meal. Wagyu always is,
certainly not everyday Japanese cuisine.
Many ranchers have told me, by treating the cattle well,
they reward us with such an amazing taste, that you'll certainly never forget.
"Gochisousama deshita", thank you to all who made this feast possible for us today.
That maybe the best meal I've ever had in my entire life.
It's really important to know where your meat is sourced.
This is once again another "farm to table" episode,
but what makes "Omigyu" really special is the history behind it!
Knowing that this is one of Japan's top 3 brands and been around for a long time,
that knowledge from making and raising beef for so long,
really does come through in the taste.
Oh yeah, I mean that marbling is just absolutely perfect.
It's a good chunk of meat we had as well.
I got to tell you, it's really easy to get on a train, come from Kyoto, less than
10 minutes, if you want to eat the meat, the wagyu, at "wagyu paradise", which is
Otsu and Shiga prefecture, 10 minutes from Kyoto!
Kevin Riley: It's well worth the trip, really. Well worth it.
We'll be back. We'll be back. [both chuckle]
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and let me know where you'd like me to travel next.
After 23 years of living in Japan, I promise to share what I've learnt here,
and take you to every corner of the country, on an amazing adventure.
"Mata ne." (See you later.)