Yield: 4-6 Servings

Yakitori

Yakitori

Yakitori is a classic, easy Japanese street food served on skewers. This version, known as Yakitori Negima, is made with chicken and green onion grilled on a charcoal grill for a light smoky flavor and brushed with a homemade sweet and salty yakitori sauce. They cook quickly so they are great for weekday grilling and make a fantastic dinner with rice and grilled veggies on the side, or just serve them as an appetizer like they do in Japan!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

Yakitori sauce

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup mirin
  • 1/2 cup sake or dry sherry
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Skewers

  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat
  • 2 bunches green onions
  • Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Submerge wooden skewers in a large cup or shallow pan of water to soak for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and the green part of 2 green onions in a medium saucepan on the stovetop over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until reduced by about half and slightly thickened. It should continue to thicken as it cools. The sauce can be refrigerated for 2-3 months.
  3. Slice the chicken into 1 1/2-inch pieces, trimming away excess fat if necessary. Slice green onions into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
  4. Alternately thread pieces of chicken with pieces of green onion onto skewers that have been soaked in water for 30-60 minutes. You will likely need to fold the chicken a bit if using chicken thigh. Don't be afraid to load the skewers up pretty generously. Each skewer should hold 4 pieces of chicken and 3 green onion pieces. Season with kosher salt.
  5. Prepare a charcoal grill for medium-high heat or preheat the broiler. Set aside 1/3 of the yakitori sauce to avoid contamination. Grill over direct heat or broil for 4-5 minutes, then flip and brush each skewer with some of the yakitori sauce. Cook another 4-5 minutes on the other side, then flip and brush with sauce again, cooking another 1-2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is caramelized.
  6. Transfer the finished skewers to a plate and brush with some of the reserved sauce before serving. You could also garnish by sprinkling the skewers with sesame seeds or thinly sliced green onions before serving.

Notes

  • If you forget to reserve some of the yakitori sauce, you can reheat it to a boil to kill any bacteria transferred by cross contamination from the chicken.
  • Don't brush the sauce on until the first side has cooked. The sauce contains sugar which can easily burn on the grill, so you want to wait until the meat is at least partially cooked before brushing it on.
  • Thickening your yakitori sauce: If you want to skip simmering the yakitori sauce until it reduces, try mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water to create a slurry. Stir this into the rest of the sauce ingredients once they have come to a boil and stir until thickened and the sauce is no longer cloudy.
  • If you have dark soy sauce, you can use hat in place of regular soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is slightly sweeter and thicker than regular soy sauce and will give an even richer color.