Yakitori are the Japanese version of barbecue skewers. They can be skewers of meat, fish, or vegetables. However, traditional yakitori are prepared with chicken, which is skewered and coated with a sauce of mirin, soy sauce, and sugar before grilling.
Ingredients (for 8 skewers):
4 chicken breast fillets (approx. 6 oz.)
6 cloves garlic
10 cm ginger
4 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/4 cup mirin (alternatively port wine)
5 tbsp sake (alternatively dry sherry)
4 spring onions
4 tablespoons sesame seeds (roasted)
2 tablespoons chili flakes (optional)
Wooden skewers
Instructions:
Peel and press garlic. Peel ginger and cut into coarse pieces, sauté both in a small saucepan with sesame oil over low heat for 10 mins.
Add sugar, soy sauce, mirin and sake and bring to a boil, stirring briefly, until sugar is melted. Allow to thicken for an hour without a lid over low heat. Then allow to cool. Soak wooden skewers in water.
Rinse chicken breasts under running water and dry. Cut meat into small cubes and brush generously with marinade. Pull the meat onto the skewers.
Fry the meat skewers on the hot grill until golden brown on all sides. Brush the meat with the remaining marinade.
Wash, dry and finely chop the spring onions.
Just before serving, brush the skewers again with some sauce and garnish with scallions, toasted sesame seeds and optional chili flakes.