1.
grilled mutton dish of Hokkaido; Genghis Khan barbecue
Slices of mutton or lamb grilled with vegetables on a dome-shaped iron skillet and dipped in a soy-based sauce. The best-known local dish of Hokkaido, eaten at restaurants, at beer gardens, and outdoors.
Named after ジンギスカン, the Japanese form of Genghis Khan; the link to the Mongol ruler is a marketing legend rather than history. The dish itself dates from early twentieth-century Hokkaido, where sheep were raised for wool.
Common collocations
- ジンギスカン鍋: the dome-shaped skillet used for the dish (also the dish itself)
- ジンギスカンを食べに行く: to go out for jingisukan
- 生ラムのジンギスカン: jingisukan made with fresh (unfrozen) lamb
Cultural note
The curved skillet lets the fat run down to the vegetables at the rim while the meat cooks on top. In Hokkaido, outdoor jingisukan at 花見 or beer gardens is as ordinary as a barbecue elsewhere in Japan.