In Japan, yakitori (焼き鳥) are often consumed as a snack, during matsuri in Japan or in yakitori restaurants (yakitori-ya) with alcoholic beverages. Yakitori chicken is truly a classic of Japanese cuisine.

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Why not accompany the skewers with beef yaki udon?

It’s not uncommon to see several establishments of this type grouped together on the same street, side by side. There are also entire amusement parks dedicated to yakitori in Japan, proof of the popularity of this dish.

The different types of yakitori

Just like sushi, yakitori in Japan is taken very seriously and there are specific names for each combination of ingredients on the skewers.

In specialized restaurants, chefs go as far as obtaining special breeds of chicken from specific regions known for their unique texture and flavors. Various methods of cutting, skewering, and grilling are applied. And customers have a choice among an amazing selection – ranging from breasts, thighs, cartilage, wings, skins, fillets, livers to gizzards.

Chicken thighs (momo, もも)
Chicken breast (mune, むね)
Chicken thighs and green onion (negima, ねぎま)
Chicken tenderloin (sasami, ささみ)
Chicken skin (kawa, 皮)
Chicken wings (tebasaki, 手羽先)
Chicken tail (bonjiri, ぼんじり)
Chicken cartilage (nankotsu, 軟骨)
Chicken heart (hatsu, ハツ)
Chicken liver (rebā, レバー)
Chicken gizzard (sunagimo, 砂肝)

Tsukune skewers on wooden background — Tsukune are a type of yakitori

Tips for yakitori skewers

I know that the steps where you need to turn and cover might seem redundant, but trust me, to get quality chicken skewers, these are essential steps.

Ultimately, you can play with the thickness of the sauce to get nice thick glazes as needed. It will come with practice, don’t worry, even I clearly don’t make them often enough to say I get a perfect result. By the way, I recently released an authentic recipe for yakitori sauce, I recommend trying that one for this recipe

teriyaki skewers on rice and wooden background — In the same vein, teriyaki skewers are very popular or even Vietnamese chicken skewers for a change from Japanese

As usual, the chicken cut of choice is boneless chicken thigh because it not only provides a juicier result but also greater tolerance to overcooking (since there’s more juice inside)

Another Japanese chicken recipe that I highly recommend is karaage chicken and come here to discover all the secrets of rice vinegar

karaage chicken r — Karaage, another famous Japanese chicken dish

The ingredients for yakitori

Dark soy sauce: Contrasts with light soy sauce and is found nowadays, either online or in Asian supermarkets. Brings a certain depth and nuance to the dishes in which it is used

Rice vinegar: Classic white rice vinegar used throughout Asian cuisine. You can find it here on Amazon. But honestly, with the popularity of sushi, it’s not uncommon to find it in supermarkets these days.

Mirin: delicious Japanese condiment, it’s a very sweet sake which, unsurprisingly, brings a nuanced sweet taste to the dish in which it is used

The cornstarch or cornflour: On one hand, it provides an incredible texture for the meat, and on the other, it thickens the sauce to achieve that syrupy consistency we love

How to make yakitori chicken skewers?

yakitori beef and cheese skewers in the pan, finished cooking — You can also try the yakitori beef and cheese skewers

We start by heating the sauces along with the aromatics, which will begin to thicken thanks to the use of cornstarch in the latter.

We set aside a few spoonfuls to brush the chicken once before putting them on skewer sticks, alternating with spring onions. Salt, pepper, and then we put it all on the heat!

From there, we’ll alternate between cooking and brushing to achieve a beautiful glazing of the skewers worthy of the best Japanese restaurants. The white sesame seed garnish will really give a “pro” look to the final result