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I'm getting hungry just looking at this photo.
I had a love affair with yakitori while I was in Japan. I mean, it's just chicken on skewers. How the hell does it taste so good? I'm still not sure, but since arriving home five days ago, I've cooked it three times. Nothing was lost in the translation; the yakitori I make at home in 30 minutes flat is every bit as good as what I had in Japan.
A note about chicken: I love those boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are so readily-available in the United States. I really do. But they're not suitable for yakitori. They dry up too quickly, and their lower fat content means they're less flavorful. Use thigh meat. It's cheaper, too!
Yakitori
3 boneless chicken thighs (should be available at the supermarket for around $2-3 per pound)
1 narrow leek, stem only
Bamboo skewers
Garlic salt
Lemon pepper
Soak the skewers in cold water for a half hour prior to using.
Get the chicken into rough chunks, a little less than one inch. Don't be too careful about this. Since you'll be threading the meat onto the skewers, you can correct any chopping issues by changing the chicken's orientation. Slice the leek into half-inch cross sections.
Cheap and delicious. And fatty.
Everything to the left of my thumb has got to go.
Thread the chicken onto the skewers, dividing every two pieces of chicken with a slice of leek. Season the skewers generously with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Grill or broil over high heat until just cooked through, turning once, around ten minutes total. If desired, baste with yakitori sauce several times during cooking. Serve plain (my preference), with reserved yakitori sauce, or with my simple dipping sauce.
The best accompaniments are skewered, grilled mushrooms and/or bell peppers, a small bowl of rice, and several mugs of ice cold, light lager.
Ready to grill.
A close-up of the finished product.
Quick Yakitori Sauce, recipe courtesy of Shizuo Tsuji
7 tablespoons sake
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sugar
In a small saucepan, add all ingredients, whisk well, and bring to a simmer (to eliminate the alcohol). Allow to cool before using.
Andy's Simple Dipping Sauce
2 parts soy sauce
1 part lime juice
Honey or sugar to taste (just a touch)
Togarashi or ground cayenne pepper to taste (just a dash, optional)
Combine all ingredients in a jar with a waterproof lid. Shake well.
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Fucking YES
When I saw ' Japan:Yaki '... under blogs I was hoping it was yakitori.
I was introduced to this shit by a show on the travel channel called No Reservations [ baller show btw ] and I had some yakitori [ though not authentic ] while in Korea and
FUCKING YES
Thanks for the recipes.
Edit: Yakitori is not only the common chicken parts on skewers, it can be anything!
Westerners need to get over the fear of raw chicken!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakitori
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
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Personally, I wouldnt eat raw or close to raw chicken that was packaged in the US or Canada. The odds of contracting salmonella is much higher when meat is processed in a plant.
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On September 24 2008 12:11 eXigent. wrote:
Personally, I wouldnt eat raw or close to raw chicken that was packaged in the US or Canada. The odds of contracting salmonella is much higher when meat is processed in a plant.
I'm with you. In Japan, I didn't mind my chicken rare in the middle, but when I'm buying supermarket chicken in the US, not a chance. That's why the dark meat is even more essential in this case. It stays moist. The trick is to cook it <i>just</i> through. Don't stick it on the grill and forget about it.
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I would definitely be doing this for the grill this Sunday for NFL Sunday...Plus to eat while I watch the Boys play.
Oh I got a tip if you want that extra flavor on your lemon pepper/garlic combination. Try squeezing some lime/lemon(i prefer lime) on the chicken then dashing the seasoning on it and letting it marinate for a few hours(if you do it in a manner of time otherwise it still will be okay). I usually do this with chicken fajitas and I have yet to hear anybody say they did not like the chicken.
Thanks for the recipe...I will be adding extra veggies to the skewers thou :p Maybe even some Owens sausage filled with cheese 
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fuk i want some but too lazy to cook ;(
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5/5 Sick blog man I will definitely be trying this it looks fucking awesome.
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8748 Posts
How do you know when it has been fully cooked? Just trial and error of learning the proper time/heat/thickness combination? Or are there some signs to check for without cutting open the chicken?
I am definitely going to cook this! Thanks
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On September 24 2008 12:56 NonY[rC] wrote:
How do you know when it has been fully cooked? Just trial and error of learning the proper time/heat/thickness combination? Or are there some signs to check for without cutting open the chicken?
I am definitely going to cook this! Thanks
It's trial and error. Ten minutes is a good starting point, but it's going to vary based upon the heat of your coals/broiler/grill (and distance the chicken is from it), the size of your chicken chunks, and how long you had the meat out of the refrigerator before cooking.
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you can generally tell the doneness of chicken by its firmness
the more it gives, the less done it is
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On September 24 2008 13:06 fusionsdf wrote:
you can generally tell the doneness of chicken by its firmness
the more it gives, the less done it is
All the doneness tests (checking for firmness, poking with a toothpick and seeing if the juices run clear, using a probe thermometer) work well enough for whole cuts of meat, but I've found them to be pretty much useless with yakitori. You've got a skewer running through the meat, which is going to mess with the firmness you're used to, and the chicken is in small pieces; you'll be lucky to see any visible amount of juice when you poke the "middle" of a piece. And using a thermometer would just be ridiculous, given the inevitable size difference between pieces.
Best to just learn your own kitchen and give a silent prayer or two during the cooking process.
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Osaka27109 Posts
mmm...
guess where I went after class last night andy? mami wasnt there though. 
i guess I need to put together a proper yakitori blog one of these days. a blog that requires lots of research.
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On September 24 2008 14:46 Manifesto7 wrote:mmm... guess where I went after class last night andy? mami wasnt there though. i guess I need to put together a proper yakitori blog one of these days. a blog that requires lots of research.
Kevin and I actually met Mami 2.0 in a DIFFERENT yakitori place in Tokyo. This Mami liked Kevin, though, not me. Though maybe Mami 1.0 never really did like me... oh this cruel world...
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okay so what's a MAMI?
and thanks for the recipe, looks delicious, can't wait to try
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EPT
