Smoky, sticky and glazed with a sweet soy sauce. Yakitori is Japanese pub food, easy to make on a griddle at home.
Yakitori chicken skewers
- 500 g chicken thigh, cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 spring onions, cut into short lengths
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp sugar
- skewers, soaked in water if wooden
- Thread the chicken and spring onion pieces onto skewers, alternating as you go.
- Simmer the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in a small pan for 5 minutes until slightly syrupy. This is the tare.
- Grill or griddle the skewers over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes a side, until charred in places and cooked through.
- Brush with the tare sauce in the last minute of cooking, then serve with any extra sauce on the side.
What is yakitori?
Yakitori means grilled chicken in Japanese. Small pieces of chicken are threaded on bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal, either with salt (shio) or with a sweet soy glaze called tare. Negima, chicken with spring onion, is one of the most popular kinds.
Yakitori bars in Japan serve almost every part of the chicken, from thigh and wings to hearts and skin, with drinks after work.
Ingredient notes and UK swaps
- Chicken: skin on boneless thigh cut into even 2 to 3 cm pieces.
- Spring onion: the white part cut into short lengths. Leeks also work.
- Tare: soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar simmered until syrupy.
- Skewers: soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes so they do not burn.
Serving
Serve the skewers hot with a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi and a lemon wedge. They go well with rice, a cabbage salad or cold beer. Uncooked skewers can be prepared a few hours ahead and kept in the fridge.
Tips for the best yakitori
- Chicken thigh stays juicier than breast over high heat, and is the traditional cut.
- Soak wooden skewers for 20 minutes first so they do not char and snap.
- Brush the glaze on right at the end, since the sugar in it burns quickly over direct heat.
Swaps and variations
Chicken skin, thigh and spring onion is the classic combination, but the same glaze works well on chicken wings or thin pork slices.
Grilling without a barbecue
A hot griddle pan or the grill setting on an oven both work well if you do not have a barbecue, the key in either case is getting real colour on the chicken before glazing, rather than glazing too early and having the sauce burn before the meat cooks through.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make yakitori in the oven?
Yes, under a hot grill works well if you do not have a griddle pan or barbecue. Keep a close eye on it, since grills brown food fast.
What is tare sauce?
Tare is the sweet, savoury soy glaze brushed onto yakitori as it cooks. It is simmered down until slightly syrupy so it clings to the chicken.
Can I use chicken breast?
Yes, but it dries out more easily. Cook it for a shorter time and baste often with the tare.
