There is nothing better than grilled chicken on a stick, so today I’m going to show you how to grill chicken yakitori. Yakitori is a popular Japanese snack that you will find all over Japan, and what is great is that is it fast and easy to make, and tastes just amazing.
In its basic form yakitori is just small pieces of chicken on bamboo skewers with a glaze. The recipe I’m going to show you is basic as well, but the variations are endless. You can use any part of the chicken you want: dark meat, white meat, gizzards, livers, chicken skin, all interweaved with a variety of different vegetables.
For the recipe today, I’m going to use chicken breasts, but you can go ahead and use chicken thighs if you prefer. Here is what you will need:
Yakitori:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
2 bunches scallions
Yakitori Sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup mirin
1 scallion, white part crushed, greens cut into rings
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 slice of ginger, 1/4 inch peeled and crushed
1 strip lemon zest
toasted sesame seeds
bamboo skewers
First off we are going to cut the chicken and scallions to the same size. Cut the scallions into 1 ½ inch pieces, and then cut the chicken breasts across the grain to the same size as the scallions. With that cut we are going to place them on bamboo skewers. I use two skewers for each yakitori, which helps keep the chicken from sliding and also keeps it flat while grilling.
We are going to use to three pieces of chicken and two scallion pieces for each yakitori. So first slide a piece of chicken through two skewers, then a scallion. Repeat until you have used all the chicken and scallions alternating three pieces of chicken with two scallions.
To make the sauce combine the soy sauce, sugar, mirin, scallion white, garlic, ginger, and lemon zest in a saucepan. Bring this to a boil over medium heat. Let it thicken up for about 5 to 10 minutes. You will want to stir it often so it doesn’t burn. Pour the sauce into a bowl and let it cool. If you are wondering about mirin, it is a sweet rice wine that you can find at most supermarkets.
Set up your gas or charcoal grill for direct grilling over high heat. Once it is ready brush the grate with a bit of oil to keep the yakitori from sticking. Place the yakitori on the grill over the heat. It is best to place them at the edge of the grill so the bamboo skewers hang over the edge so they don’t burn. Another trick is to just put a folded up piece of aluminum foil under the ends of the skewers to keep them from burning.
Grill the yakitori for about 2 minutes than flip and baste with the yakitori sauce using a silicon basting brush like this. Continue to grill and baste the yakitori all through grilling. It should take about 4 minutes per side to finish. Once done it should have a nice glaze and the chicken will be firm to the touch.
Transfer it to a plate and sprinkle with the scallion rings and toasted sesame seeds. You can also use some of the yakitori sauce for dipping if you would like. That is how to grill chicken yakitori. As you can see it is really simple, and there are a variety of different ways to make it. Try experimenting with different vegetables and pieces of chicken.
You are going to need bamboo skewers for this recipe, actually quite a few of them. Here are the bamboo skewers I use; they come in a pretty big pack.
image courtesy of Ruth and Dave/flickr