Yakitori Chicken Skewers

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Yakitori Chicken Skewers: Step by Step

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1. Simmer all the tare ingredients in a small pan for 12 to 15 minutes until reduced by a third and lightly syrupy. Strain and cool.

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2. Thread the chicken onto skewers, alternating meat, a fold of skin and a length of spring onion, packing the pieces snugly so they cook evenly.

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3. Season the skewers lightly with salt and leave for 10 minutes.

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4. Get a charcoal grill or a ridged griddle very hot. Grill the skewers for 3 minutes per side, turning once, until the skin is blistered and the meat is opaque.

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5. Now begin glazing: brush with tare, grill 45 seconds, turn and repeat. Do this three times per side, building up thin, dried layers.

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6. Rest for 2 minutes, then serve dusted with shichimi togarashi and with a small bowl of extra tare.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Getting Right

• Use two skewers per row rather than one; the pieces cannot spin when you turn them.
• Shield the exposed skewer ends with a folded strip of foil to stop them burning through.
• Keep leftover tare in a jar in the fridge. It improves indefinitely as you reuse it.

Changing the Recipe

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Serve It With

Cold beer or a junmai sake · Serve with edamame and pickled cucumber · Finish with a grilled peach

Keeping and Reheating

The tare keeps for months refrigerated. Cooked skewers keep 2 days; reheat under a hot grill for 3 minutes with a fresh brush of tare.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. The calories include 2 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

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