Kobe Japan: A Low Carb Epicurean Delight

Keeping on your low carb lifestyle in Japan is as easy as it gets. As an island country, Japan is famous for its ocean-based animal proteins: all kinds of fish and seafood. If you prefer land animals, Japan offers all the basics: beef, pork, chicken, duck and more. If you are ultra-adventuresome, you may want to try the crickets and scorpions I glimpsed in some of the food court areas at the open air markets.

If you can communicate with your servers and navigate the ingredients in the teriyaki, tepan-yaki, yakitori, and other sauces and marinades, it is simple to get a good low carb meal with delicious meat and fresh vegetables cooked to perfection.

In Kobe, Japan, they also have something quite unique, though often copied. They have Kobe Beef.

Kobe Beef is known for its high-fat content, as well as its unique flavor and texture. The beef is so well-marbled, it looks like light pink or white beef.

What is Kobe Beef?

Kobe Beef comes from the Tajima strain of the wagyu cattle, raised in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Cows that are destined to become Kobe Beef are treated like emperors. They are kept in special serene pastures, serenaded, massaged and fed special food and drink.

In Japan, Kobe Beef is a registered trademark of the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. In order to be labeled Kobe Beef, the cow must be a castrated Tajima/wagyu bull, born in Hyōgo Prefecture. It must be slaughtered and processed at a specific processing house, and meet specific marbling ratio, meat quality score and gross weight requirements.

I have heard talk of American Kobe-style beef coming from domestically raised wagyu crossbred with Angus cattle, but I don’t think there are any legal requirements for using the name “Kobe” or “Kobe-style” in the United States. Anything that is called Kobe beef or a Kobe burger in an American restaurant might be any kind of beef.

As a follower of the LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle, I have no nutritional reason to avoid the high-fat Kobe Beef. So, both times I have visited Kobe, Japan, I have made it my top priority to experience a real Kobe Beef meal.

The last time I was in Kobe, I took the free shuttle from the cruise terminal to China Town. As I started up the street, I found it difficult to decide whether to try something new, or return to the place in which I had previously dined. In the end I decided to return to the same restaurant I visited the first time I was there: Kissho Grill.

So, in the two blocks up from the gate, and up an alley to the left, I was unable to keep the big, dumb grin of excitement off my face as I walked up the narrow stairs into the small restaurant. No more than ten tables fit into the narrow room.

My Low-Carb Kobe Beef Meal

I waited about 20 minutes for a table while I read the menu. I chose the special Kobe Beef lunch combination, which included roast beef, salad, soup, stone roasted steak and rice.

My first course was a few slices of roast beef with teriyaki sauce, served over a few leaves of salad herbs. The sauce was thick, but not nearly as sweet as you find in the Unites States. This was served at cool room temperature.

My second course was salad. Delicious raw Kobe Beef, in razor thin carpaccio-like slices on a bed of lettuce and leaves, dressed with something like spicy French dressing. It was fresh, crisp, cold, and simply delicious.

The soup was a mild chicken broth with cabbage and a few chunks of root vegetables. The soup was peppered with a few small of pieces of what my waitress later told me, was pork.

About the time I was served my steak course, the other waitress (the one not serving me) approached me to inquire if this was my first time at the restaurant. I recognized her at once; she was my waitress the last time I was there. When I informed her I had dined at the restaurant one year ago, not only did she remember me, but she told me where I sat and what I ate when she served me on my previous visit. That made my day. I was so glad I chose the same restaurant!

When they serve the stone roasted steak course, they serve you a plate of seared, cut-up Kobe Beef, whatever variety you ordered. I ordered 150 grams (a little over 5 ounces) of rib steak, which I had guessed was something like rib eye steak. You also get a fancy mushroom, a vegetable garnish and a chunk of Kobe Beef tallow. That’s the Kobe Beef part.

As for the stone roasted part, they bring a very hot stone to your table, so you can cook your beef to your own liking. It comes with a few slices of onion already sizzling away. And of course, a bowl of rice.

I took the chunk of beef tallow in my chopsticks, and rubbed it around on the hot stone before I placed my first chunk of beef on the hot stone to cook. Before long, I was cooking, eating and burning my tongue on an incredibly delicious meal.

If you ever find yourself in Japan, and want to sample genuine Kobe Beef, I highly recommend the experience to any and all who would delight in tasting such a delicacy.

If your pocket book can’t take the hit, or if you don’t eat beef, there are many other Japanese dishes that will fit into your low carb lifestyle beautifully. They do wonders with tofu, if you prefer that to animal proteins.

It is customary for all Asian restaurants to serve rice with each meal so it is up to you as a low carber to not have it brought to your table or for you to simply not eat it.

Japan is a wonderful place to visit! And you will find it a delightful place to stay on your low carb plan.