A5 Japanese Wagyu Striploin Sukiyaki Cut

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

The A5 Japanese Wagyu Striploin is cut thinly, making it perfect for sukiyaki or shabu-shabu. As characteristic of this type of meat, it’s tender and succulent, with a beautiful, almost perfect marbling. The texture is insanely buttery, and will melt in your mouth. Filled with incredible umami flavor, A5 Japanese Wagyu will definitely up your sukiyaki game.

PREPARATION AND PAIRINGS

A popular Japanese soup dish, sukiyaki is traditionally prepared in a cast iron pot (whereas shabu-shabu is prepared in a clay pot). Sukiyaki is mad with a soy sauce-based brother, and shabu-shabu has a konbu-based broth that runs clear.

Sukiyaki is delicious, and is usually served during winter. It’s a popular part of Japanese year-end drinking parties, called bōnenkai. Some popular sukiyaki ingredients are scallion or green onion, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms like enoki or shiitake, udon noodles, and firm tofu. Using A5 Japanese Wagyu Striploin for your sukiyaki will take it to a different level.

TRULY, THE BEST OF THE BEST

The rarest of all steaks, A5 Japanese Wagyu accounts for only less than one percent of Japanese beef production. That’s how special it is. Wagyu means “Japanese cow,” and pertains to four native Japanese breeds.

One of them is the Kuroge Washu, or the Japanese Black. This cow is a special cow, unique not only to beef, but to the entire animal world. It is the only cow that metabolizes fat internally, integrating said fat into the muscle, creating that gorgeous marbling it’s famous for. This cow is so unique, that in 1997, the Japanese government banned all export of both its DNA and live specimens completely.

The Japanese grade their beef with a combination of letters and numbers. The letters pertain to the amount of usable meat, with A meaning “superior,” or yielding a high amount. The numbers pertain to fat marbling, color of meat, and the fat distribution, with 5, again, meaning “superior.” It’s a strict grading system, with three graders assigned to rate each beef, and the scores they give are combined for the final rating. These graders must train for two to three years before being deemed proficient.

So yes, an A5 Japanese Wagyu is very rare, and a very big deal.

Storage Instructions

Your cut of A5 Japanese Wagyu Striploin Sukiyaki Cut comes frozen and vacuum packed. Store in freezer. Thaw only when about to cook. Cooked leftover meat can only be kept in the fridge for 3 to 4 more days. Consume immediately.