Description
A quick and easy Japanese Chicken Yakitori recipe perfect for weeknight dinners, featuring succulent grilled chicken with a sweet-savory glaze.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5–6 pieces boneless chicken breast or 6–8 pieces boneless chicken thighs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tsp ginger powder)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tbsp red wine or mirin
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp distilled vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 6–7 wooden skewers (soaked in water for 10–20 minutes)
Instructions
- Soak wooden skewers in water for 10-20 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix soy sauce, water, red wine or mirin, brown sugar, and vinegar until sugar dissolves.
- Trim excess fat from chicken and cut into 1–2 inch chunks.
- Combine minced garlic, ginger, ground black pepper, and 1/4 cup of the sauce in a large bowl. Add chicken and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Pour remaining sauce into a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat.
- Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of sauce to create a slurry and stir into boiling sauce to thicken.
- Thread marinated chicken onto soaked skewers and grill or broil over medium-high heat for 8-12 minutes, turning and basting with thickened sauce.
- Let skewers rest for a minute before serving, drizzling with remaining sauce.
Notes
Customize with your choice of vegetables and serve over rice or salad.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 skewer
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 70mg