Shichirin

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The shichirin listen (help·info) (Japanese: 七輪, literally "seven wheels") is a small charcoal grill.

[edit] Description

The shichirin is a light-weight, compact, and easy-to-move cooking stove. It has had prototypes since ancient times, and it is said that shichirin roughly the same as today's were made in the Edo period. Old shichirin are mainly ceramic and many can be found in old houses. Most modern shichirin are made by heating diatomaceous earth, but the raw materials are not uniform. There are also shichirin such as those made with a double inside and outside ceramic structure (these are called Mikawa konro). The shape is mainly cylindrical, square, or rectangular, and the size also varies. Many varieties of shichirin are made for different uses. In the Kansai region, they are also known as "kanteki".

[edit] North American "hibachi"

Main article: Hibachi

In North America, small aluminum or cast iron cooking stoves resembling shichirin are referred to as "hibachi", which in Japanese refers to a small heating device which is not usually used for cooking. It has been suggested that these grills were confusingly marketed as "hibachi" when they were introduced to North America because that word was easier than "shichirin" for English speakers to pronounce. The word "hibachi" is also used in North America to refer to an iron hot plate (teppan) used in Teppanyaki restaurants.