Yakitori
Japanese grilled chicken skewers cooked over charcoal and glazed with sweet-savory tare sauce. The cornerstone of izakaya culture, served across Japan from humble street stalls to Michelin-starred restaurants.
- 1.5 lbboneless chicken thighs(cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 6 wholescallions(cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1/2 cupsoy sauce
- 1/2 cupmirin
- 1/4 cupsake
- 3 tbspsugar
- 2 clovesgarlic(smashed)
- 1 inchfresh ginger(sliced)
- 1 tspshichimi togarashi(for serving)
Tare sauce keeps refrigerated for months and improves with age. Marinate chicken up to 4 hours ahead.
- 1Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes
- 2Make tare: simmer soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic, and ginger for 15 minutes until slightly thickened, strain
- 3Thread chicken and scallion pieces alternating on skewers
- 4Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high
- 5Grill skewers 3-4 minutes per side, brushing with tare every minute
- 6Continue grilling and basting until chicken is cooked and glazed, about 10-12 minutes total
- 7Serve hot with extra tare for dipping and shichimi togarashi for sprinkling
Use chicken thighs for juicier results. Brush with tare multiple times during grilling for a lacquered finish.
Yakitori — meaning "grilled bird" in Japanese, from yaki (to grill) and tori (bird) — traces its roots to the Meiji era (1868–1912), when Japan's long-standing dietary restrictions were lifted and meat-eating became more widely accepted. Before this period, Buddhist tradition had greatly limited meat consumption, making chicken a relative luxury available mainly to the wealthy. When the restrictions eased, street vendors known as yatai operators began selling yakitori made from affordable cuts and offal, skewering the meat on bamboo sticks and cooking it over charcoal braziers. The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake accelerated the spread of yakitori stalls throughout Tokyo and beyond as vendors fed communities during recovery. After World War II, the widespread introduction of affordable broiler chickens transformed yakitori from an offal-forward street snack into a mainstream favourite enjoyed by all. Two seasoning styles define the dish: shio (salt) for purists who want to taste the chicken itself, and tare — a glossy, sweet-savory glaze made from soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar — applied in layers during cooking. Specialist yakitori-ya grill using premium binchotan charcoal, prized for its intense, clean heat that imparts a subtle smokiness without chemical off-notes. The craft is taken seriously enough that some yakitori chefs have earned Michelin stars, elevating a humble street food into a refined culinary art.