By Koby Parry
The most convenient things in life come on a stick. This week, we’re making kebabs. More specifically, we’ll be making my favorite Japanese chicken kebabs: Yakitori. My family would always cook these outside on summer days. With spring at our doorstep, I thought this recipe would be perfect to make.
This recipe is incredibly simple, it just takes some time to prepare the kebabs. If you plan to make these for a party, I’d recommend assembling them the day before and storing them in the fridge so they’re ready to go for the next day. If you’re just making them for yourself or a small group, you can start the morning of. Yakitori is traditionally cooked on a hibachi grill over hot coals, but if that is unavailable, you can use an oven. There will be instructions for both.
Yakitori
- 1 lb of chicken thighs (or gizzards if you’re into that) ~$4.45 ($2.18/lb)
- ½ cup of soy sauce ~$1.58 ($0.11/fl oz)
- ¼ cup of mirin (sweet cooking rice wine, optional) ~$2.78 ($0.23/fl oz)
- 5 tbsp of brown sugar ~$1.84 ($0.06/oz)
- 4 roughly chopped garlic cloves ~$0.72/each
- 2 oz of roughly chopped ginger ~$0.90 ($3.58/lb)
- 2 leeks cut into 1 inch segments (4 bunches of green onions if leeks are unavailable) ~$3.72/bunch
- Kebab skewers ~$4.99
Grand total: ~$20.98
Recipe total: ~$9.18
Note: the skewers are optional and you can skip them if you just want to have some marinated chicken on rice. If you do choose to use the skewers, make sure to soak them in water for at least an hour before cooking. This prevents them from burning. Also traditional Yakitori kebabs are pretty short, but you can use regular sized kebab sticks.
- Slice chicken thighs and leeks (or green onions) into roughly one inch pieces and set in a gallon bag.
- Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger to a pot. Set over medium heat and stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer, and let reduce for five minutes, or until the alcohol has burned out.
- Let the marinade cool slightly, then pour it over the chicken. Let it marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
- Take the soaked skewers and begin adding your meat and vegetables in an alternating pattern. This takes time, so if you are using an oven, preheat it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and if you are using a grill, light your coals and place them in the grill.
Oven Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then lay the kebabs evenly spaced. Bake for 8 minutes on one side, then flip to the other side and bake for another 8 minutes.
- Serve with rice and enjoy.
Grill Instructions
- Set kebabs on the grill and cook until charred, but not burnt (roughly five minutes. It depends on how hot the coals are and how thick the chicken is). Flip and repeat with all of your kebabs.
- Serve with rice and enjoy.
Note: this recipe is really easy, it’s just a little tedious. I’ve skipped the skewer part when I’ve been really hungry and it works great as a rice bowl.
College Cuisine: Yakitori was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.