Yakitori

~ Mary ~

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One of Chicago’s big attractions are its summer festivals.  We used to frequent them every year, until they started becoming more of a BUSTO rather than a stellar time.  One problem with this is that John is crazy for the chicken on a stick at the smaller festivals.  Succulent, delicious and grilled perfectly.  Of course it’s ALL white meat too..

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As I was perusing through Steve Raichlen’s new cook book “Planet Barbecue!”.  This recipe caught my attention.  I’d seen many recipes for Yakitori, but none like this.  It’s always stuck me as an extremely easy thing to make, but other recipes just didn’t seem right.  The difference with this one was/is in addition to some extra ingredients (ginger, lemon zest, chicken stock) you reduce the sauce down until syrupy. I gave it a go and sure enough it’s probably the closest thing to John’s favorite street food.

If your skewers were skinny use two.  It made flipping them much easier!

Pictured here with Gingered Asian Slaw – very colorful when using all red cabbage!

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One year ago: Fruit Pizza, Mexi Rice for a Fiesta, Mango & Black Bean Salsa

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Yakitori

another winner from Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbeque!

For the sauce I doubled this recipe the first time around.  It gave me enough to dip the skewers (sauce in a tall metal pan/cylinder) and cover them well.  I kept the unused sauce in the fridge and the next time around I made the recipe as is, and combined the two.  Be sure to bring to a boil when you do this!

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In a medium sauce pan bring to a boil:

1 Cup Chicken Stock

1 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine)

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Scallion – white part only, minced

2-4 Garlic Cloves crushed

1/2 inch piece of ginger crushed

Strip of Lemon Zest approx 1/2 x 2 inches

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Bring to a boil then simmer until syrupy, about 10-15 minutes.

Strain into a tall metal pan/cylinder/can deep enough to dunk your chicken skewers.  I put my sauce right on the grill to keep it hot.

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For the chicken skewers:

Cut 1 1/2 lbs any type of chicken you like/prefer/have on hand into 1/2 inch cubes and fill skewers just half way.  I used two skewers per kabob to make them easier to flip.

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Grill over direct heat, placing a double layer of tin foil under the skewers so they don’t burn up on you!  Grill about 2 minutes on each side then dunk into sauce and return to the grill.

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Grill an additional 1-2 minutes until well browned.  Be sure not to burn it!  Dip one more time into sauce and place on a platter and sprinkle with Toasted Sesame Seeds