If you are looking for an easy Japanese grilled recipe then look no further than the Yakitori recipe. The meat is basted with a sweet-savory sauce and cooked over a hot barbecue grill for that charring taste. Yakitori is one of the quickest and crowd-filler appetizers that you can serve for your party.
Yakitori, as we know the dish today, started making waves during the Middle of the Meiji Era from 1868 to 1912. During this time, chickens were bred in larger numbers for food purposes. In urban Japan, Yatai, simply known as street stalls, started serving skewered chicken grilled over charcoal.
Delicious and Crispy Yakitori Recipe!
In yakitori, chicken is glazed in homemade yakitori sauce, and are known to be very hard to resist due to their taste and textures. You will just fall in love with this simple chicken skewered dish bathed with a delicious savory-sweet sauce.
All parts of the chicken, from chicken breasts, thighs, hearts, and gizzards are used to make yakitori. Then, the meat is threaded onto sticks and cooked while being dipped in the homemade sauce throughout the process.
The sauce is called Tare and is somewhat similar to the teriyaki sauce with a combination of both sweet and salty flavors. So, let’s see how you can make this delicious Japanese dish at home.
Quick Stats
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Servings: 10 yakitori skewers
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 9 green onions/scallions
- neutral-flavored oil
Yakitori Sauce (Tare):
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup mirin
- ¼ cup sake
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tsp brown sugar
Method to Prepare
- Gather all the ingredients and soak about 10 to 12 bamboo skewers in water for half an hour.
- Now, we will make the yakitori sauce first.
- Take a small saucepan and add mirin, soy sauce, sake, water, brown sugar, and the green part of one scallion. Bring it to a boil over high flame.
- Once it is boiled, reduce the flame to low and let it simmer, uncovered, until there is only ⅓ sauce left. It will take around half an hour.
- Once done, reserve this sauce for coating the chicken.
- Now, cut the white and light green part of the scallions into pieces. Then, cube chicken.
- On a flat work surface, fold a slice of chicken in half and insert it into the skewers at 45 degrees angle.
- Grease the wire rack to avoid chicken sticking. Place the skewers on top.
- Set the broiler to high and broil the chicken for around 6 minutes.
- Now, take out two tablespoons of yakitori sauce in a bowl.
- Once the chicken is broiled, brush the sauce on both sides and continue broiling for another 3 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
- Transfer these skewers to a serving plate, brush them with reserved sauce and enjoy!
Must Check: Tandoori Chicken Recipe: Effortless and Tasty Chicken Delicacy at Home!
Final Words
In this recipe, bite-sized chicken pieces are grilled on skewers and are coated in a savory and sweet glaze to provide you with a myriad of flavors. One of the most unique and unexpected appetizers or main course options, try yakitori and provide your family with authentic Japanese delicacy!
