Yakitori
Skewered grilled chicken in a glossy soy-mirin tare. Izakaya street food at its most pure: chicken thigh, scallion, sometimes liver or skin, all charred over high heat and brushed with the sticky house sauce. Eat off the skewer.
Overview
Chicken thigh and spring onion are threaded alternately on bamboo skewers, grilled hot to char the outside while the centre stays juicy, and brushed repeatedly with a reduced soy-mirin-sake-sugar tare. Salt-only versions (shio) and tare-glazed (tare) are both classics.
Ingredients
Tare (sauce)
- 100 ml soy sauce
- 100 ml mirin
- 50 ml sake
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 garlic clove (smashed)
- 1 cm ginger (sliced)
Skewers
- 600 g boneless chicken thigh (skin on if possible, cut into 2 ½ cm cubes)
- 6 spring onions (or 2 leeks, white parts, cut into 2 ½ cm pieces)
- A pinch of salt
- Shichimi togarashi (to serve)
Equipment
- 12 bamboo skewers (soaked 30 minutes in water)
Method
Stage 1 - Reduce the tare
- Combine the soy, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan.
- Simmer over medium heat for 10-12 minutes until reduced by about a third and slightly syrupy.
- Strain into a bowl; discard the aromatics.
Stage 2 - Skewer
- Thread the chicken and spring onion alternately onto the soaked skewers (4-5 pieces of chicken per skewer with onion between).
- Pat dry; season very lightly with salt.
Stage 3 - Grill
- Heat a griddle pan, BBQ or grill on its highest setting.
- Grill the skewers for 4 minutes a side until browned.
- Brush with tare on both sides; cook another 2 minutes turning, brushing each turn until the glaze is sticky and lacquered.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Pile on a plate, brush with one final coat of tare.
- Sprinkle shichimi over.
Notes
- Soak the skewers: 30 minutes in water prevents them charring through and snapping when you handle them.
- Don't tare too early: The sugar in the sauce burns at high heat. Salt-then-grill, then tare in the last minutes.
- Skin-on thigh: The fat renders into the chicken; skinless is leaner but less juicy.
Storage
- Best from the grill. Keeps 1 day refrigerated; reheat under a hot grill 2 minutes to re-crisp.
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