Yakitori…

Believe it or not, Marty and I have never visited a Japanese restaurant. We never went when we lived in Jersey, and until a few years ago, there wasn’t one where we lived in Vermont. 

We did try sushi when someone served it at their house, which they picked up from a restaurant. I ate it because that was how I was raised, but I didn’t like the nori or seaweed which is used to make a sushi roll.

We watch many travel food shows and like when the hosts visit food stalls in various countries. That’s when I started craving chicken yakitori.

Every country has its own version of yakitori, which means roasted bird on a stick. It started hundreds of years ago as a poor man’s food since off-cuts and organs were used. 

When yakitori became more popular with tourists and businessmen, better cuts of chicken were used. Today, behind sushi, yakitori is one of the most popular Japanese foods.

Traditionally, chicken yakitori has bite-size cuts of chicken on a skewer with pieces of spring onion in between. The skewer is cooked over a charcoal fire and basted with a special sauce called tare.

The ingredients in tare sauce are simple; soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, and sake or Asian cooking wine. Super simple and very delicious.

After researching the dish, I made my first batch of chicken yakitori and haven’t stopped thinking about it since we had it on Monday night. 

I used chicken thighs for my skewers and followed how to cut the pieces and fold them in half, forming a downward C on the skewer.

I alternated with the spring onion whites; however, I’ll use more next time since the grilled scallions were so delicious. 

I made the tare sauce and marinated the skewers with half of the sauce. The rest I used to baste the skewers as they cooked. 

I used a veggie grill tray that I sprayed with pan spray, and the skewers did not stick or cook too quickly.

I kept turning the skewers like I saw the food stall vendors do; I basted them after every turn. 

I checked the temps and took them off the grill when they were at least 165 degrees. I was super careful not to overcook those babies.

I served the yakitori with thinly sliced flat iron steak and Japanese sweet potatoes with a garlicky, sweet lime compound butter to melt on top. The combo of the two is amazing.

When I tasted the yakitori, a loud mmmmm sound came out of my mouth. It was as good as it looked on tv! 

The skewers were moist and tasty. The sauce was perfectly balanced sweet, salty, and sour with lots of umami flavor. The grilled scallions, forget about it; they were spectacular.

Here is the fantastic, easy-to-follow recipe I used to make the Yakitori.

Trimming the boneless chicken thighs and cutting them into pieces took a little time, but can be done ahead. 

Threading the chicken and scallions on the skewers was fun and didn’t take long at all. The total cook time on the grill was about 8 minutes. 

What else can I say about yakitori? I already purchased two packages of chicken thighs and put them in the freezer so I can make them again whenever I want to. 

I know many folks like to grill but get stuck in a rut of making the same things repeatedly. Yakitori is delicious food to grill and serve, along with other skewered meats and vegetables. 

Guests will love it; eating anything off a stick is always fun, from salads to desserts. My favorite is caprese skewers dipped in a balsamic glaze.

Fruit salad skewers are also light and refreshing, with endless possibilities.

Caesar salad skewers are easy to make and fun; surprising people, such a thing can be done. Here’s a link to how to make them.

My writing buddies this morning soaking up the early morning sunshine.

That’s it from here. We are in summer spätzle mode and using our spare time to enjoy the pool. The water is in the 90s; yes, it’s still refreshing, trust me. 

We are also enjoying the flowers and veggie beds, having coffee cocktails on the front porch, grilling and eating on the deck, and most of all, we are all head of heels in love with Nelly.

The week of dry hot days and cool nights has been wonderful, but we desperately need some rain. 

Happy Friday & have a great weekend!