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Tammi Kwok

Yakitori Recipe

Sticky, sweet and smoky, Yakitori is a common street food in Japan, sold alongside other favourites like Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. This is a fantastic way to add a twist to your chicken - you can add shallots or chives to the skewer for a whole different flavour! A perfect reason to fire up that barbecue before summer is out!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Chicken Thighs skin on, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup cooking sake
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 stalk spring onion roughly cut into 3cm lengths
  • Bamboo skewers soaked overnight in water, for threading*

Method
 

  1. 1. Place the garlic, spring onion, soy, mirin, cooking sake, water and brown sugar into a small pot and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally until it reduces by half.
  2. 2. Meanwhile, heat your grill, or barbecue.
  3. 3. Thread the chicken onto the top 1/3 of the skewers, making sure that the pieces are not too tightly bunched together*.
  4. 4. Barbecue or grill the chicken until cooked through, turning occasionally. You're looking for it to get a slight char (or smoke if you're cooking over coals) and be completely cooked all the way into the centre.
  5. 5. Arrange warm skewers on a platter or plate in a single layer and brush on sticky sauce to serve.

Notes

*Soaking the bamboo skewers will prevent the skewers from burning when you cook the chicken.
**Overcrowding the chicken skewers will cause make it harder to cook the chicken through.
***If you're sensitive to the raw smell of chicken, you can also marinade a the chicken cubes for 10min with a splash of sake before skewering.