Flesh = pork? liver?

I'm in Tokyo now and here is a strange phenomenon. Twice, at different restaurants, I've ordered a dish of what had been called sliced pork (by the waitress), once with noodles and once with vegetables, and both times this pork tastes distinctly like liver.

Does anybody know what I'm talking about and why this may be?

thank you

Do you think it actually could have been pork liver which is commonly consumed in Japan and other Asian countries? Here are examples.

http://images.google.co.jp/images?q=%E3%83%AC%E3%83%90%E3%83%8B%E3%83%...

Any of those dishes could be pork slices, beef slices, pork liver, etc. The fact that you say that pork liver is commonly eaten tells me something.

Thank you.

Neandergal,

I don't think I've ever heard of liver being served with/on noodles (ramen?), but it sounds like a case of misunderstanding between you and the waitress due to language difficulties. Liver would not normally be presented as "pork" in Japan, as the taste/appearance/texture is totally different, and many people in Japan don't like liver.

http://images.google.co.jp/images?q=%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%...

Not really "liver," but maybe it was "chaashuu"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_siu

This is more commonly seen on top of noodles :)

I also initially thought you were talking about chaashuu when I read your question. That is something that is commonly served the way you describe and would be referred to as "pork slices". Liver on the other hand, is far less common, and I would be surprised if you ran into it that often on your trip. Also, if you see liver on a menu it is often called liver (ƒŒƒo�[), leaving little question about what you are eating.

Well, the only thing is that chaashuu doesn't taste like liver. Btw, here are some photos of liver on noodles. Liver is served in every Chinese style Japanese restaurant and most people who like these types of restaurants love liver.

http://images.google.co.jp/images?q=%E3%83%AC%E3%83%90%E3%83%8B%E3%83%...

Well, the only thing is that chaashuu doesn't taste like liver.

I had my doubts too, however I've had some pretty porky chaashuu that was reminiscent of liver, and I've had liver that I thought was beef tongue. I suppose it all depends on how the pork was prepared, compared to how neandergal is used to eating liver. Obviously there are infinite ways of preparing both so there is bound to be some overlapping flavors.

Liver is served in every Chinese style Japanese restaurant and most people who like these types of restaurants love liver.

Perhaps its a regional thing, but I've only seen liver every so often at the Chinese restaurants I've been to, specifically at ones around Yokohama Chinatown. So I wouldn't say every chinese restaurant carries it. Bamiyan doesn't seem to serve it either, and they're one of the largest Chinese restaurant chains in the country.

Add to that most western tourists don't eat at chinese restaurants when travelling in Japan, and that liver is called liver, makes it unlikely that that is what Neandergal was eating, let alone twice.

Good, if some chaashuu tastes like liver to some people, than that pretty much settles the problem.

I would just like to add that I was talking about the typical "chuukaya" type of restaurants, located in our neighborhoods throughout the country, that serves raamen or gyoza or all those Japanese favorites that the Japanese used to think was genuinely Chinese but that nowadays we know they're not.

In those type of restaurants reba-nira (liver and leek) dishes are almost always served and quite often they are among the house's specialities. The liver used in those reba-nira dishes are almost always sliced pork liver.

Since most Japanese do not know how to pronounce "liver" correctly, I assumed that they might just try to explain it as either "rebaa" or "pork." Btw, reba-nira is often the men's favorites rather than the women's.

Chinatown, on the other hand, only serves genuine Chinese dishes.

In fact, the restaurants where I had that liver-tasting meat were the sort of fast-food type serving gyoza and ramen as well. So maybe that answers the question!

Neandergal,

I guess that settles it then, but what did it end up being? Was it actually liver?

Uco,

I'm thinking liver is more common at the chinese restaurants rather than ramenya, but I'll admit that I'm not actively looking for it since I'm not a big fan. I'll have to try that liver nira ramen if I ever come across it. And I thought of one more place that we've overlooked that will almost certainly serve liver: Yakiniku restaurants.

will always remain a mystery meat to me, as I am now back in the US of A.

Yllwsmrf,

Well, not exactly the "genuine" raamen-ya, but I guess we can say that you'd find reba-nira-itame (stir-fried liver and leek) in the "teishoku-ya" type of places. If a construction worker comes in to one of those places and the house doesn't have reba-nira-itame, they're in trouble :)

Anyway, I'm quite surprized that some gentlemen here who are so knowledgable about Japan were not very familiar with reba-nira dishes. Just ask any adult male or even female in Honshu and they would surely know about reba-nira-itame.

Btw, the ones you get in yakiniku places are Korean style and, as far as I know, is always BBQ'd and does not come with noodles.

Just some B-kyu gurume (B class gourmnet) chat :)

Anyway, I'm quite surprized that some gentlemen here who are so knowledgable about Japan were not very familiar with reba-nira dishes. Just ask any adult male or even female in Honshu and they would surely know about reba-nira-itame.

I've had liver nira before in Chinatown, but I didn't recall seeing it on the menus around where I live. I asked my wife though and she said most places will probably have it even if its not on the menu.

Just some B-kyu gurume (B class gourmnet) chat :)

Keep it coming! Maybe we should start a new thread :)