Yakitori
焼き鳥
Chicken on a stick, salted or lacquered in tare, cooked hot — a bar snack that is also dinner.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 焼き鳥.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Yakitori is chicken grilled over charcoal in Japan and over whatever is hot at home. Salt (shio) or a soy-mirin tare. Thigh is kinder than breast. You do not need every organ cut to call it yakitori — you need the sear and the tare not to burn.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken, boneless thigh, bite-size600 g
- Spring onion, white parts cut to skewer with the chicken4
- Salt2½ ml
- Neutral oil4.9 ml
Tare
- Soy sauce59 ml
- Korean rice wine30 ml
- Sugar15 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Simmer soy, rice wine and sugar 3 minutes until glossy. Cool. This is tare.
5 minStep 2
Thread chicken and spring onion onto soaked skewers. Salt lightly.
10 minStep 3
Grill or pan-grill over medium-high, turning, 8–10 minutes. Brush tare in the last 2 minutes so the sugar does not charcoal.
10 minWatch: Tare burns. Salt-only skewers can take more heat.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.
Substitutions
Thigh → Breast
Pull it sooner. Breast dries.
Tips
- Negima is chicken and leek. That is the usual home order.
- A little remaining tare is for dipping, not for drowning.
History & culture
After-work counters, standing bars, and festival stalls. Home yakitori is a grill pan and a window open.
Skewered grilled chicken is old; the modern tare-and-binchotan bar is a 20th-century city habit.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Yoshiko Kikuraku via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BEST%20YAKITORI%20in%20local%20Japan.jpg
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Yakitori take?
35 min all in — 20 min prep, 15 min cook. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 3 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan, Tongs.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at ½ tsp.
How much soy sauce?
4 tbsp of Soy sauce.
How much sugar?
1 tbsp of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Thigh → Breast. Pull it sooner. Breast dries.
What should I watch for?
Tare burns. Salt-only skewers can take more heat.
Any tips from this recipe?
Negima is chicken and leek. That is the usual home order. A little remaining tare is for dipping, not for drowning.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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