Japanese Yakitori Chicken

Sweet and sticky, garlicky and gingery, Japanese Yakitori Chicken is first marinated and then pan-fried with the most delicious, savoury sauce. Traditionally prepared on skewers, this version uses only a stovetop. It’s quicker and easier, which makes it a great weeknight dinner option!

It’s no secret that I love sauce. Any dish prepared with sauce is always going to be a personal favourite of mine. And, I happen to love the flavour combination of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and brown sugar too, so this Japanese Yakitori Chicken is perfect for me! This is one of those recipes that I make just for myself. Whenever I find myself at home alone, especially at mealtime, I’ll make something just like this. My partner, John.e, is a vegetarian, so that’s one reason to prepare this dish when he’s away.

I still remember the first time I tried it. I was a bit nervous because I thought with all of that garlic and ginger that the flavour was going to be way too strong. But it wasn’t at all! And, garlic can sometimes have that warm, spicy taste. But, when garlic is cooked, it mellows out and becomes sweet. Still, garlic is quite prevalent in this recipe, so you must love garlic to try it!

Now, I would be doing you an injustice if I didn’t highlight some of my other chicken recipes. All of these mimic the type you’d find at your favourite take out restaurants. You have to try my Sweet Chili Chicken and my Lemon Chicken. And, don’t forget my Sesame Chicken or my Szechuan Popcorn Chicken.

WHAT IS YAKITORI?

Yakitori, which is loosely translated to “grilled bird” in Japanese, is a type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves skewering the meat with a skewer typically made of bamboo. The meat is usually grilled over a charcoal fire.

Yakitori seasonings are primarily divided into two types: salty or salty-sweet. The salty type usually uses plain salt as its main seasoning. For the salty-sweet variety, a special sauce consisting of mirin, soy sauce, and brown sugar is used. Other common ingredients include ground black pepper, fresh garlic and both fresh and ground ginger.

WHICH CHOICE OF CHICKEN WORKS BEST?

For this Japanese Yakitori Chicken recipe, I would highly recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I love working with chicken thighs. No matter what cooking method I throw at them, they always come out tender and moist. I’m also a fan of dark meat. I think it’s more flavourful. So, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the way to go in my opinion.

You can certainly use breast meat for this recipe too. Because breast meat tends to cook faster than dark meat, you’ll want to ensure that the breast meat is cut into one-inch chunks. The breast meat can dry out rather quickly, so using a larger piece of breast meat will ensure that it doesn’t become overdone and too dry. There’s nothing worse than dry breast meat!

Unlike chicken breast, you can cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into smaller pieces. They don’t have to be perfectly even. I lay the boneless and skinless chicken thigh flat on my cutting board and cut it into strips about one inch wide. It’s really that simple.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post. I’ve taken the liberty of breaking the ingredients down into sections so that this recipe is more manageable.

For the Chicken and Marinade:

• Chicken – For best results, use boneless skinless chicken thighs that have been cut into one-inch strips.
• Oil – Use vegetable or peanut oil to fry the chicken.
• Ground Black Pepper
• Garlic – You will need 6 cloves of garlic. Finely mince them all.
• Ginger – Use fresh ginger. I like to use a box grater to grate it so that it’s super fine.
• Ground Ginger – This is in addition to the fresh ginger.

For the Sauce Mixture:

• Low Sodium Soy Sauce – Use low sodium soy sauce if possible to keep the salt low. If you only have regular soy sauce, use half soy sauce and half water.
• Water
• Mirin – This is a type of rice wine. You can use white wine if you don’t have mirin.
• Brown Sugar – This is the main part of the sauce. It will add sweetness and will help to caramelize the chicken.
• Rice Wine Vinegar – You can substitute this with apple cider vinegar if you wish.
• Cornstarch – Cornstarch is the key to a thick and luscious sauce.
• Sesame Seeds – For best results, use toasted sesame seeds. The flavour is so much better!

HOW TO MAKE JAPANESE YAKITORI CHICKEN

In a bowl, whisk together the low-sodium soy sauce, water, mirin, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar.  Whisk until the brown sugar is completely dissolved and set it aside.

Place the chicken pieces in a separate bowl and add the vegetable oil, ground black pepper, garlic, ginger, and dried ginger powder. Toss together until ingredients are well mixed through.  Pour in ¼ cup of the sauce you prepared previously. This will create the marinade.  Stir into the chicken until everything is well combined.  Marinade for 10 minutes.

Place a frying pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, transfer the marinated chicken to it and spread it out to cover the surface of the pan.  Cook the chicken for 7 minutes, turning a few times until the chicken is cooked through and lightly browned.

Next, whisk together the cornstarch with one tablespoon of water until smooth.  Pour it into the remaining sauce mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce into the frying pan and stir through the fried chicken.  Continue to cook for 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened and adhered to the chicken.

Remove from the heat, plate, and garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.  Serve immediately. 

OTTAWA VALLEY MEATS

The chicken you see in the photographs is from Ottawa Valley Meats. I used one package of skinless boneless chicken thighs, which is one pound. Sourced from local generational family farms that organically feed and raise White Rock chickens in a free-range environment. All their chicken products are air-chilled; this process significantly limits water content and ensures a superior taste and texture.

You can find a complete list at Ottawa Valley Meats. If you are in Ontario, be sure to take a look at the website. Ottawa Valley Meats offers seafood, beef, poultry, pork, etc. And, they deliver right to your door! The product comes in a freezer-refrigerated truck, which means the box doesn’t need to be stuffed with ice packs or dry ice. And, the food doesn’t need to be packaged into those silver cooler bags. Do you know what that means for me? Less waste! Give them a try – you won’t be disappointed!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

As you can see from the photographs, I served my Japanese Yakitori Chicken with rice. I love it this way; just plain and simple so that the chicken is the star of my dinner. And, I love how the rice soaks up that sweet and sticky, gingery and garlicky sauce!

It is also really delicious with my Honey Soy Asparagus. The sweetness of the honey in the asparagus and the nuttiness of the sesame seeds really pair well with the chicken. I also have a copycat version of the Dainty Brand Beef Fried Rice that is a personal favourite of mine – just in case you don’t care much for plain white rice!

When it comes to sides to pair well with Japanese Yakitori Chicken, it is quite easy to come up with something, because just about everything works well with it. Just be sure to pair it with more muted sides, because it would be a shame to overshadow the flavour of that delicious chicken!