Yakitori Recipe

Yakitori is traditionally skewered chicken in Japan, often glazed with a special yakitori sauce, and grilled over charcoal. There can be a variety of ingredients from meats, vegetables, and offal. Yakitori are usually served with a tare, or sea salt.

The natural flavors of the produce, along with the charcoal barbecue flavor, is unmatched. The tare gives a sweet, salty, umami flavor, which ties everything together. It pairs perfectly with a beer and is great to enjoy with friends and family. 

Yakitori is one of the most popular Japanese foods and can be found at izakayas, Japanese-style pubs, along with a nice cold beer. At some high-end places, chefs will source special breeds of chicken for their unique taste and texture.

Yakitori

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Equipment

• Charcoal grill
• Skewers

Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• Boneless chicken thigh
• Long green onion

Tare Sauce

• 120 ml soy sauce
• 120 ml mirin
• 60 ml sake
• 60 ml water
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• Sea salt to taste
• Nihonshu in a spray bottle (Japanese sake) (Optional)

Instructions

 

How to make yakitori

• Cut the chicken thigh into bite-size pieces.
• Cut the long green onion into the same size.
• Alternate the chicken and onion on the skewers. Use around 4 chicken pieces and 3 green onions for 1 skewer.
• Lightly season with salt.
• Grill over a charcoal grill. When one side is done, spray it with the nihonshu. This will give a delicious sweet and subtle flavor and help tenderize the meat.
• Serve with the tare sauce and sea salt.

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Andy Cheng

Growing up with a Japanese mother, Andy has extensive knowledge of Japanese culture, life and food. Originally from England, Andy started to train to be a chef after graduating university and moved to Japan to start his culinary journey. With his aim to run his own restaurant, he studied under Michelin star chef Namae Shinobu and Akihiro Nagao. He is now studying how to roast coffee in Northern Japan.