← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 600 g boneless chicken thighs, skin on or off, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 2 thin leeks or Japanese negi, cut into 3 cm lengths
• ½ tsp Salt
• 120 ml Soy sauce
• 120 ml Mirin
• 60 ml Sake
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 1 pinch Shichimi togarashi (seven-spice) (optional)

Method

1. Soak 12 bamboo skewers in water for 30 min so they do not burn.
2. Simmer the soy, mirin, sake and sugar in a small pan over medium heat for 10 min, until reduced by about a third and slightly syrupy. Pour a little into a separate bowl for brushing.
3. Thread the chicken and leek alternately onto the skewers, packing them snugly. Season lightly with salt.
4. Cook on a hot barbecue, griddle pan or under a hot grill for 8–10 min, turning often, until lightly charred.
5. Brush with tare, grill for 1 minute, and repeat two or three times until the skewers are lacquered and the chicken reaches 75°C (165°F).
6. Serve hot with the remaining tare for dipping and a sprinkle of shichimi.

Tips

• For shio (salt) yakitori, skip the tare and season generously with salt, then finish with a squeeze of lemon.
• Keep the brushing tare separate from the pot you dip raw-meat brushes into. Contains soy and wheat.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101 RecipeTin Japan