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Easy Yakitori With Tare Sauce

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
Cubes of chicken fillet are skewered alternatingly with scallions and grilled while brushing with sauce throughout the cooking. Serve with rice for a full meal, or as snack or cocktail food.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Soaking the bamboo skewers 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people
Grilling yakitori on a stovetop grill

Ingredients
  

For the tare sauce

  • ½ cup soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
  • ½ cup sake
  • ½ cup mirin
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

For the skewers

  • 8 to 12 bamboo skewers
  • 400 to 500 grams chicken thigh fillets (remove the skin if you like; I didn't)
  • 8 stalks scallions (white and light green portions only) cut into two-inch lengths

To garnish (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Stir all the ingredients for the tare sauce in a small pan. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, until reduced by half. It will take about 20 minutes.
  • While the tare reduces, soak the bamboo skewers in water (so they don't catch fire on the grill).
  • Pat the chicken fillets dry with paper towels and cut into bite-size pieces.
  • Start heating up the grill (I used a stovetop grill; a charcoal grill will give the chicken even better flavor).
  • Thread the chicken with the bamboo skewers, about three to four pieces per skewer, with a piece of scallion between each piece.
  • Lay the skewered chicken and scallions on the hot grill. Do not move for a minute to allow the underside to brown. Flip then brown the other side.
  • Flip the skewered chicken and scallions and start brushing the tops and sides with the tare sauce.
  • Flip the skewered chicken and scallions every minute or two, brushing the tops and sides with tare with every flip.
  • Repeat the flipping and brushing three to four times until the chicken pieces are cooked through.
  • Optionally sprinkle the yakitori with sesame seeds before serving.

Notes

An updated version of a recipe originally published on February 1, 2019.
Keyword grilled