Overview: Thread the chicken on a skewer, grill on high heat 6-8 minutes per side, serve over rice with yummy sauce and green onions.
- 6 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 Tablespoons mirin or white cooking wine
- 4 Tablespoons sake or cooking sherry
- 4 Tablespoons ginger – peeled and grated (cut down to 1 or 2 Tablespoons if you don’t care for spicy food)
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- 4-5 green onions
Hold the green onions at their white bulb ends and cut or snip* any dried tips off the opposite green ends. Keep holding the bulb ends and clip across the green ends about 1/4″ wide pieces or smaller. The ending result is a lot of small green circles that dress up just about any dish and add a mild onion flavor. Keep cutting these small pieces down towards the bulb ends. Stop when you reach the white part of the onion. Set the green onion pieces aside for later use.
*Cutting green onions: if you don’t have a great cutting surface and knife, then use kitchen shears or everyday scissors that have been thoroughly cleaned and dipped into alcohol (rubbing or vodka) for sanitizing.
To make the sauce, combine everything except green onions and chicken in a small sauce pot. Stir well to combine the sugar and the liquids. The ginger pieces will float around, which is okay. Turn the heat on and bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Add in half of the green onions. Keep boiling and stirring for 5 minutes. Turn heat off and move the pot of sauce away from the hot surface. Let it cool while you stir-fry the chicken.
Spray non-stick skillet with Pam and heat on high for 45 seconds. Stir fry chicken until brown on all sides, about 5-8 minutes. It may take longer if you have a small skillet and the chicken isn’t spread out in one layer over the bottom of the pan.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to get sauce on all pieces. Sprinkle with the remaining green onions and serve with rice.
If you want to serve this as an appetizer, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and grill or cook them under a broiler. You have to know your oven pretty well to use the broiler (how close to the heat to put your pan, how fast the broiler heat cooks, etc.)
Boca Chik’n Yakitori for Vegetarians
- 1 package (12 pieces) Boca brand Chik’n Nuggets
- 6 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 Tablespoons mirin or white cooking wine
- 4 Tablespoons sake or cooking sherry
- 4 Tablespoons ginger – peeled and grated
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 4 green onion tops, cut horizontally into small circles
Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the fake chicken nuggets over the surface. Heat according to package directions, about 12 minutes at 400. While chik’n is baking, prepare sauce. After chik’n is cooked through, spoon the sauce over the pieces and bake another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle cut green onions over chik’n and serve hot.
Chicken Yakitori for a Crowd
- 2 cups Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1-1/4 cups mirin or white cooking wine
- 1-1/4 cups sake or cooking sherry
- 1-1/4 cups ginger – peeled and then chopped in a food processor
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 10 pounds skinless boneless chicken tenders or thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 bunch (6-8) green onions
- 45 wooden skewers, soaked in a tall glass of water for 30 minutes
To cook this much chicken, you need a grill. We used a gas grill to prepare Chicken Yakitori for the East Asian Study Break at the Masters’ House in 2010.
The grill needs to be at medium-high heat when you cook the chicken.
Hold the green onions at their white bulb ends and cut tops to create small circles. Set aside for garnish.
To make the sauce, combine everything except green onions and chicken in a large sauce pot. Stir well to combine the sugar and the liquids. The ginger pieces will float around, which is okay. Turn the heat on and bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Add in half of the green onions. Keep boiling and stirring for 5 minutes. Turn heat off and move the pot of sauce away from the hot surface.
Thread 3 pieces of chicken onto each skewer.
Grill on medium-high heat, turning and basting with sauce until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. We cooked the chicken in 4 batches so that none of the cooking chicken was too far from the fire.
Garnish with green onion circles and serve hot.