Grilled Chicken Skewers
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This grilled chicken skewers recipe is no ordinary chicken on a stick! It’s negima yakitori!
What is negima yakitori?
Yakitori is a popular dish in Japanese cuisine of skewered chicken. In Japanese, yakitori translates to ‘grilled chicken’, yaki meaning ‘to grill’ and tori refers to ‘chicken’.
Although its called ‘grilled chicken’, yakitori isn’t limited to grilled chicken skewers.
Grilled vegetables, vegetables with meat and other types of meat or food served on skewers, in general, can also be referred to as yakitori.
So what is does the negima in negima yakitori mean?
It means ‘dishes based on spring onions and tuna’. In this case, its spring onion.
Cooking grilled chicken skewers with spring onion is only one variety of chicken skewers. Using a Welsh onion also works as a substitute.
As far as the seasoning for grilled chicken skewers, there are two main flavours. They’re usually seasoned with salt or yakitori sauce which is a mixture of sake, soy sauce and sugar.
If finding ingredients to make the yakitori sauce is difficult, you can opt for ready-made teriyaki sauce! You can find it in your local Asian supermarket or in most mainstream grocery stores.
This grilled chicken skewers recipe makes a great appetizer or entree! You should also try Cumin Lamb Skewers if you enjoy this recipe. Let’s get started!
Grilled Chicken Skewers Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 green onions
- bamboo skewers
- water to soak skewers
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Yakitori Sauce
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 5 tbsp mirin
- 3 tbsp cooking sake
- 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Begin by soaking the bamboo skewers in cold water for up to an hour or overnight. This will prevent the skewers from burning when the chicken skewers are grilling.
- Cut your chicken breasts into ¾ inch bite-sized cubes. Do the same with your green onions.
- Then skewer the chicken and green onion pieces onto the bamboo skewers any way you’d like. Once they have all been skewered, set them aside.
- Skewer the chicken and scallions, alternating them on the bamboo skewer. Set aside.
- To make the yakitori sauce, mix together the sugar, sake, mirin, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Stir well over high heat.
- Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until it thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Prep your grill and heat up the coals. When the grill reaches the right temperature, grill the chicken skewers until the surface of the chicken becomes white and appears cooked on the outside.
- Brush the skewers with the yakitori sauce on top. Grilli until they are cooked through and brush more sauce on a couple more times as it cooks.
