Japanese Chicken Skewers {yakitori}
BEST EVER hibachi chicken skewers at home! Charred chicken and veggies, white rice, and a delicious sweet and savory homemade yakitori sauce recipe that you will adore.
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE
- ½ cup mirin
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup sake sub white wine if needed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
FOR THE GRILL
- 1 bunch scallions whole
- 2 large bell peppers cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 small boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 4 ounces each (or larger, you'll have leftovers!)
- cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stir, then turn the heat off. Let the sauce sit and cool while you prepare the rest of the meal.
- Preheat the grill to high. Thread the peppers onto long skewers. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and thread them on skewers as well. To cook, grill the scallions whole for about 30 seconds on each side just to char, then remove from the grill and set aside. Grill the skewered veggies and chicken for about 5 minutes on each side until black edges form. When the chicken is nearly cooked, brush with the cooled sauce all over, then remove from the grill. If the veggies cook faster than the chicken, remove them first.
- Serve the skewers and scallions with cooked rice and extra sauce for drizzling and dipping.
Notes
Use any veggies you like for grilling - mixing it up is always fun!
This dish is traditionally served with chicken, but other proteins would be delicious with the sauce.
When skewering the chicken, fold up any longer pieces or tuck in any stray edges to form neat skewers of meat pressed closely together. This will ensure that the chicken stays moist.
I prefer to grill the veggies and chicken separately since they tend to have different cook times. Skewers look pretty all mixed up, but they cook better when you stick to one ingredient per skewer.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!