- The origins of Jingisukan dish
- This dish takes its name from the 13th century ruler Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire that stretched across Eurasia.
- This dish of grilled mutton or lamb was created in Japan about 100 years ago. Until then neither mutton nor lamb had featured in the Japanese diet. At the time, mutton conjured up images of Mongolia and the extensive grazing of sheep there. The name Genghis Khan was already familiar to many Japanese. It is also possible that this dish was inspired by the Chinese dishes of grilled mutton that Japanese visitors had seen in northeastern China.
- In the late 19th century, the Japanese government encouraged sheep farming as a source of wool. People were also encouraged to eat mutton to grow bigger and stronger. This culminated in the dish known as ‘Genghis Khan’. The authorities occasionally organised events in Tokyo and Hokkaido for people to sample it. But the dish began to become familiar among Japanese people around the 1930s. It is still popular particularly in Hokkaido where there is still a lot of sheep farming.
- Specialized cast iron pans are available in Japan for Genghis Khan. The pans have a raised centre to hold the meat, while the surrounding section for the vegetables is shaped like the brim of a hat and designed so that it will catch and coat the vegetables with the meat juices. Many homes in Hokkaido have these special pans. They are not used for any other dish. Genghis Khan holds a rather unique place in Japanese cuisine.
