🥩 Omigyu no Misozuke (Miso marinated Omi Beef)

Omi beef marinated in miso is a local dish of Shiga Prefecture, where Omi beef is marinated in white miso paste and left to rest for several days before being grilled. In the Edo period (1603-1867), it was against the law to slaughter cattle and horses, but in 1781, the Hikone clan offered miso-marinated beef to the shogunate and the three Tokugawa families as a complementary medicine, and the dish came to be consumed publicly. This beef marinated in miso was invented by Den'emon Hanaki with reference to the "Honzon Komoku," a book on medicinal herbs left by Li Jichin of the Ming Dynasty in China, and was called "Henpongan.” In 1866, a beef hot pot restaurant was opened and beef came to be sold for medicinal purposes. Omi beef, with its long history, is said to be the oldest brand of beef in Japan, and is characterized by its tender meat with a good balance of fine lean meat and high quality fat. Omi beef is a Japanese black breed that has been raised in Shiga Prefecture for the longest time in a natural environment of beautiful water and fertile land. In 1890, when the Tokaido Line was opened, Omi beef began to be transported by freight from Omihachiman Station, and the name Omi beef became widely known throughout the country.