Japanese chicken BBQ is called as “Yakitori.” If you have come to Japan, many of you had enjoyed it at “izakaya” restaurants where serving alcohol and foods (mostly Japanese foods). It is very popular foods and most restaurants serving it is not expensive. (But some “yakitori” restaurants are expensive.)
Normally you can choose two different taste, “shio (salt)” and “tare (sauce)” at the restaurant. The sauce tastes like “teriyaki” sauce and each restaurants has their original sauce. It would be interesting you try to find your favorite sauce.
I cooked salt type yakitori at this time.
Ingredients:
- Chicken
- Salt
- Leek
- Shiitake mashroom
- Garlic
How to cook:
1) Cut chicken meat as bite size (about 4 to 5 cm width) and separate chicken skin from meat. Cut leek about 4 to 5 cm.
2) Stab ingredients to skewer. Usually skewer is bamboo and about 15cm long. You can make many variation of skewer at this time.
Chicken meat and leek is called as “negima.” Only chicken meat is “shoniku”, only skin is “kawa.”
3) Put some salt to 2).
4) Place them on th egrill and heat. You should turn over sometimes.
I cooked “yakitori” with very basic combination.
At the restaurants, you can see lever (kimo), gizzard (sunagimo), chicken wing(tebasaki), sasami (a part of breast) neck (seseri), tail (bonjiri) and some vegetables such as leek (negi), bacon wrapped asparagus, shishito (a kind of green paper), garlic (ninniku) etc.
Old Japanese people were eating bird meat at least since 7th century. This cooking style (yakitori) seems to be since around the beginning of 17th century.
One of interesting facts regarding yakitori is that some places are serving pork meat as yakitori. “Yakitori” means “grilled (yaki) chicken (tori : it is originally means bird, but currently most of bird meat is chicken).” And also depends on region, there are very local specific yakitori.
When you will enjoy BBQ, please try yakitori, too.
Enjoy meal!
Yakitori is cooked on fish grill. It is available on Amazon.com. Please refer following links.