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Japanese grills and charcoals


Daniel

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I was looking on the Pacific Rim Websitehilda grillunder grills.. I saw they had a Hilda Grill.. This is a japanese clay box with a wire grill where you can cook with charcoal.. I enjoy the whole process of cooking at the table and would love to have a few of these..

Although, I am happy with how there product looks, I was wondering if anyone knew a website that offered a wider selection..And am I correct to assumethe clay version will hold the heat of charcoal.. I am really looking for something made of stoneI would also like to buy some japanese charcoal..

Edited by Daniel (log)
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I found two more grills.. Still would like to find a stone one..

Here is a cast iron version that burns sterno.. Its the type of grill you would find on pu pu platters..

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/...ce_1875_6373417

And another ceramic one.. Looks similar to the first one..

grill

Here is something posted on ebay:

grill

Edit to remove links that violated something :rolleyes: ...

Edited by Daniel (log)
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Charcoal burned indoors can produce an alarming amount of carbon monoxide. I wonder if there is a history of this with its increasing use in restaurants and homes.

For my house, I would only use a charcoal burner with a CO detector. When I tried grilling steaks on a hibachi, under the range hood, the CO detector went off within 5 minutes.

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A few pieces is better than a lot! I'm glad you have the CO detector.

I would be more worried about restaurants with table grilling or cooking. We would have to depend on local codes, and whether they were being bent on a busy night.

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Will I die if I use this indoors in an apartment..

Here's a quote from one of the sites you posted :

You must have good ventilation for charcoal use.

I know you already know this... but please be careful.

The Hilda grill and the black one in another are cute, but seem small for the way you like to cook. No?

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Will I die if I use this indoors in an apartment..

Here's a quote from one of the sites you posted :

You must have good ventilation for charcoal use.

I know you already know this... but please be careful.

The Hilda grill and the black one in another are cute, but seem small for the way you like to cook. No?

They are small for the way I like to cook.. I figured i would get like four of them and put them at peoples tables for like an app.. But check out this grill above.. I think I have solved the problem..

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What you are looking for is actually called a shichirin. They are available (in Japan) is many types; cermamic, cast iron, round, square, etc. The type you are looking at is pretty much for restaurant use and I have never seen them in a home, depending on the restaurant they will use either charcoal or sterno candle(?).

The type you see in Japanese homes are much bigger and look like this. They are almost always used outside.

I think the name Hida (the title is misspelled) is taken from the Hida-Takayama area, an area of Japan very famous for it's dish of hoba miso that is always cooked on a small shichirin (in a restaurant). If you google images of hoba miso, you will see the shichirin you are talking about. If you notice there isn't much variety either.... :biggrin:

I will edit the title for you.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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The small square Hida grills should be OK for indoor use - they really are small, especially since the container is remarkably thick-walled. Traditionally, people grilled their fish outdoors when using charcoal grills - to the extent that a friend of mine who is now around 60 spent her girlhood evenings in sun, rain or snow, out on the balcony with the darned fish grill, because her mother refused to switch to anything newfangled! So please take the issue of ventilation seriously.

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What you are looking for is actually called a shichirin. They are available (in Japan) is many types; cermamic, cast iron, round, square, etc. The type you are looking at is pretty much for restaurant use and I have never seen them in a home, depending on the restaurant they will use either charcoal or sterno candle(?).

The type you see in Japanese homes are much bigger and look like this. They are almost always used outside.

I think the name Hida (the title is misspelled) is taken from the Hida-Takayama area, an area of Japan very famous for it's dish of hoba miso that is always cooked on a small shichirin (in a restaurant). If you google images of hoba miso, you will see the shichirin you are talking about. If you notice there isn't much variety either.... :biggrin:

I will edit the title for you.

Wow.. Really thank you guys so much for taking the time to respond and educate me.. Its such a great way and fun way to cook things.. I cant wait to go through all this information..

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  • 3 weeks later...

As the grilling season starts to get underway here in the United States, I have started to research ideal charcoals to use in an outdoor grill. In my research I have come across articles mentioning binchotan as a superior charcoal that is popular in Japan. I thought I knew a lot about Japanese cuisine and cooking, but I never heard of binchotan. What makes this type of charcoal so good to use?

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As Ohba suggests, binchotan is specifically for serious unagi, yakitori, and other restaurants. In Japan, every restaurant that uses binchotan puts up a sign at the front indicating that they use binchotan. It's not for use in an outdoor grill.

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What is the charcoal used in good traditional nabemono restaurants? I've never noticed a ventilation system.

Also, what is the fuel used in the tabletop braziers?

the tabletop braziers are usually heated with sterno.

I guess I have never been to a good traditional nabemono restaurant because I have only eaten from nabes that have been cooked with table burners,like this.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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What is the charcoal used in good traditional nabemono restaurants? I've never noticed a ventilation system.

Also, what is the fuel used in the tabletop braziers?

the tabletop braziers are usually heated with sterno.

there was a recent thread on the braziers here.

I guess I have never been to a good traditional nabemono restaurant because I have only eaten from nabes that have been cooked with table burners,like this.

Thanks for the clarification. At first I thought about rentan (briquette) for use in a shichirin and bluish kokei nenryou (solid fuel).

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