The surprising truth about "premium Kobe beef" sold everywhere at super cheap prices

Kobe beef.jpg — On the "online market" there are many advertisements for premium Kobe beef.

Kobe beef is a world- famous Japanese beef. Purebred Tajimaushi cows are raised in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan with a special care process and a special diet. Therefore, Kobe beef has a marbled fat content evenly distributed between the muscle fibers. This creates a smooth texture and a characteristic sweet and fatty taste.

Thanks to this unique texture, Kobe beef has become the most expensive beef in the world.

In Vietnam, there are many different types of Kobe beef, with prices ranging from 2-15 million VND/kg. Accordingly, this premium Japanese beef is only available in restaurants, hotels or high-end imported food stores.

However, in recent days, the “online market” has been flooded with Kobe beef. Online sellers advertise this as a premium beef, with layers of fat interspersed with muscles like marble, and when eaten, the meat feels soft, fatty, and sweet.

However, Kobe beef is sold at super cheap prices, even cheaper than American beef belly on the market.

Most of the outlets sell Kobe beef cut into rings for grilling, pan-frying, making beef jerky or rolled into hot pot. The price of this type of beef ranges from 220,000-350,000 VND/kg depending on the type.

In particular, when selling, traders advertise "wrongly sold goods", "50% discount" or "crashly discounted price"... along with claims of premium quality. Therefore, Kobe beef is as expensive as hotcakes.

Underneath the ads on the “online market”, hundreds of people ordered this type of beef to eat. One source spent just over half a day posting to sell 1800 kg of Kobe beef sliced and rolled.

Ms. Dinh Ngoc Nhien - an online sales representative in Nam Tu Liem ( Hanoi ) - admitted that because of the low price, Kobe beef is in high demand.

Four days ago, she imported a batch of nearly 300kg of beef, cut into rounds, the price dropped sharply because the wholesaler was clearing out the warehouse. She advertised it for sale at only 230,000 VND/kg, and in less than two days, all of the goods were sold out.

“Today’s shipment is priced at 290,000 VND/kg, higher than the previous shipment but compared to normal days, it has decreased by more than 50%,” said Ms. Nhien, saying that from morning to noon, customers had ordered several dozen kilos.

During this time, the weather is still a bit chilly. On weekends, families gather to eat and go on picnics. Kobe beef is suitable for grilling and pan-frying, so it is even more popular.

Ms. Ha Thi Thuong, a beef dealer in Hanoi, said that for nearly a month now, she has been importing Kobe beef and selling it for 220,000 VND/kg. This price is as cheap as American beef belly - a type of imported beef with a low price on the market.

According to Ms. Thuong, the Kobe beef she sells is all pre-cut into rounds and then vacuum-packed to ensure quality. Each round of meat weighs about 250 grams (a tray has 2 rounds).

“This is the best marbled beef. The combination of layers of fat and red muscle meat gives it a soft, fatty feeling,” she said. Thanks to that, she can sell 40-50kg of this beef a day.

On culinary forums, many housewives have raised doubts about cheap Kobe beef. Some people shared that when thawed and cooked, the fibers of the beef were loose, like they were pieced together, not natural beef. The quality of the beef was normal, not like the "premium VIP goods" advertised by the seller.

Mr. Tran Van Cuong - manager of a food store chain in Hanoi - said that they are actually Aukobe beef, but traders call it Kobe beef. Genuine Kobe beef does not cost several hundred thousand per kilo.

Aukobe beef is Australian beef, not Japanese. On the market, Aukobe beef tenderloin costs between 400,000 and 500,000 VND/kg. Therefore, customers should be more careful when buying cheap beef, Mr. Cuong advised.

In fact, in the world today, there is a technology to inject fat into beef to create layers of fat interwoven with lean meat. For example, Australian Hokubee beef uses the Pique technique to create beautiful marbled fat veins, while also creating succulent, soft and sweet beef. The beef has been cut fresh, the worker will filter out excess fat, then use the Pique technique to inject the filtered fat into the lean beef.

TH (according to Vietnamnet)

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