Homemade Yakitori Recipes - Chicken, Beef, Pork, Fish, Seafood, Vegan
Traditional Japanese yakitori is made from pieces of chicken that marinated, or seasoned with salt, inserted onto bamboo skewers, seasoned, grilled over an open flame, and served with various varieties of special Teriyaki-style sauces. There are two types of yakitori Seasonings Tare (sauce) or Shio (salt). You can make your own delicious yakitori at home using the recipes provided in this article. While chicken is popular, there are many variations including meats such as beef, pork, fish, scallops, shrimp and other seafood. Vegetarian and vegan yakitori can also be made using the recipes shown below. This article shows you how to make yakitori at home using the best ever recipes for all the variations.
Yakitori Seasonings (Tare or Shio)
Generally there are two flavors for serving yakitori - either salt based (Shio) or soy, sake and mirin based sauce (Tare).
Shio Seasoning is simple done by sprinkling salt and pepper over the chicken. Other alternatives are to use Shichimi-togarashi (chili pepper with seven flavors) or Yuzukosho (a Japanese chili pepper paste). You can also use lemon wedges to add to the flavor.
Tare Sauce is made of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar. It has good balance between salty and sweetness. You can add ginger and other ingredients.
Recipe for Tare Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 scallion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Japanese sake
- 3/4 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 1 large piece of fresh ginger, peeled, and finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or Japanese pepper mix)
Method
Add all the ingredients listed to a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to the boil over moderate heat, stirring regularly until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes to reduce the volume to about 2/3 cup. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, discarding the solids. Let the sauce cool It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week, until needed.
Yakitori Skewers
The special yakitori skewers are made from bamboo and have a flat shape, which prevents the pioeces of meat and vegetable from spinning around when being grilled. You can get these skewers from Asian Food suppliers. Soak wooden skewers in water from abouit 60 minutes before using to stop them burning. Yakitori are cooked over a cooking grate with the skewers suspended over the coals or flame. There is no wire grid on the grate, and this stops the yakitori from sticking. You can achieve the same effect by securing heavy metal skewers to the grill or barbecue grate so that they extend over the ends. The grill or barbecue should be very hot.
Classic Yakitori Negima Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 cup Japanese sake
- 8 yakitori wooden skewers (or similar)
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken thigh fillets (skinless)
- 4 large spring onions, sliced into short lengths
- shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice blend), to serve
- 2 cm (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Method
Firstly, make the marinade by placing the soy sauce, sugar, sake, mirin, and ginger in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the liquid reduced by about one-third. Set aside to cool. Next, slice the chicken thighs into about 24 pieces (2 inch or 4 cm long). Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, add about half of the marinade and mix well. Reserve the remaining marinade for basting during the cooking and for brushing over the yakitori when serving. Cover the bowl and set aside in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes to marinate the chicken, stirring once or twice.
Heat you chargrill pan, barbecue, flame grill or charcoal grill to high temperature. Insert chicken and spring onion pieces onto the yakitori wooden skewers so that each contains three pieces of chicken separated by two spring onion sections. Grill or barbecue the chicken skewers for about 8-10 minutes, turning once or twice and basting with reserved marinade. Remove each batch when the chicken is just cooked in the center. To serve, sprinkle the remaining marinade over the chicken and sprinkle with shichimi togarashi or pepper. Serve immediately and do not delay.
Simple Yakitori Chicken Recipe With Garlic, Ginger, Sherry and Soy Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 cup dark soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
- Scallions for garnish, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 pound (500 g) boneless chicken thigh meat
Method
Slice the chicken thigh meat into 1 inch (2 cm) pieces and transfer in a shallow dish. Prepare the marinade by adding the sake or sherry, brown sugar, soy sauce or tamari, mirin, garlic and ginger to a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the sauce reduces in size. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the liquid for serving. Pour the rest of the sauce as a marinade over chicken. Mix well, cover the pan, and set aside in your refrigerator for 1-4 hours, or overnight. Soak the wooden or bamboo skewers in water from about 60 minutes. Preheat your grill, barbecue or broiler to moderate-high temperature. Insert the marinated chicken pieces onto skewers. Cook the chicken for about 4-6 minutes, turning once or twice. Serve garnished with scallions and with a drizzle of the reserved sauce.
Beef Yakitori Recipe with Garlic and Ginger
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 3 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
- 8 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, fined chopped
- 1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice wine) or dry sherry
- 3/4 pound (375 g) eye fillet or sirloin steak
Method
Make the marinade by mixing together the chicken broth, ginger, mirin, soy sauce and garlic in a small heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil. Then, lower the temperature and simmer for 60-90 seconds. Set the marinade aside to cool. Slice the beef into 1 inch (2 cm) cubes. Set aside about 1/4 cup of the marinade for serving. Next, place the meat in a shallow dish, pour in the cooled marinade, mix well and set aside for 1-3 hours in the refrigerator, stirring several times. Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 60 minutes. Preheat an outdoor grill of barbecue over high heat. To cook, thread 2 pieces of beef, interspersed with green onion onto each skewer. Grill the skewers until the meat is medium-rare inside and browned on the outside (generally about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked beef skewers onto a serving plate, drizzle with some of the sauce you set aside, and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve hot.
Pork Yakitori Recipe with Sesame Oil and Mirin
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (1 kg) pork sirloin, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup mirin
- 2 tablespoons gochujang (Japanese spice)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 green onions, cut into quadrants for inserting onto the skewers
Method
Soak 12 skewers (6 inches (15 cm) long in water. Mix all the ingredients together and add to a shallow pan. Add the pork pieces, mix well and set aside for the pork to marinate for 2-4 hours. Thread pork and onion pieces onto the skewers in sequence. Grill or barabecue over high heat for about 4 minutes per side. Serve hot drizzled with extra sauce, toasted sesame seeds, pepper and fresh herbs.
Fresh Scallops Yakitori Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 scallions
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1/2 teaspoon molasses
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 medium button mushrooms, halved
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sake or dry white wine or sherry
- 12 small-to-medium sea scallops, washed and dried
Method
Combine the mirin, sugar, molasses, Worcestershire, soy sauce, sake and ginger in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer over moderate heat and until the volume is reduced (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Keep about 1 tablespoon of the sauce for use as a serving sauce. Add the button mushrooms and scallops to the remaining sauce placed into a small bowl, and mix well to coat. Then, cover and marinate for about 30 minutes, but no longer. Preheat your barbecue or grill to moderate-high. Trim the scallion to remove the white parts which can be served with the dish. Unwrap the scallion greens and wrap around each scallop. Thread the scallops onto wooden skewers, alternating with the mushrooms. Grill the skewers, basting the reserved sauce, for about 2-3 minutes a side, turning once.
Mixed Chicken and Seafood Yakitori Recipe
Ingredients
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 3 red onions, cut into segments
- 1 small zucchini, sliced into rounds
- 200 grams (7 oz) firm fish steaks, cut into cube
- 400 g (14 oz) chicken thigh fillets, cut into cubes
- Freshly ground black pepper (or Japanese pepper), to taste
Method
Preheat a charcoal grill, barbecue or stove grill over moderate heat. Place a sequence of a zucchini round, chicken piece, shrimp, cube of fish, and piece of onion onto a skewer. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients to assemble about 12 sticks. Brush gently with olive oil and season with salt and pepper (or Japanese pepper). Place the skewers on the pre-heated grill and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Serve after brushing with a little extra sauce.
Salmon and Asparagus Yakitori Recipe
Ingredients
For the yakitori marinade and glaze- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup of stock
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 3 tablespoons green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
- black pepper or Japanese pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Salad greens, or fresh herbs to serve
- 7 large asparagus stalks, sliced into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) lengths
- 1 kilo (2 lb) salmon fillets, with skin removed, cut into 1 inch (2 cm) cubes
Method
Firstly, make the yakitori marinade and glaze by adding the list of ingredients to a medium size saucepan. Bring the liquid to boil, while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 5-7 minutes or until it reduces and thickens. Strain the liquid and set aside to cool. Preheat your electric, gas or charcoal grill or barbecue to medium high. Add cubes of salmon and asparagus pieces onto the skewers. Brush the salmon and asparagus with the yakitori glaze and then with a little oil. Grill the salmon over moderate to high heat basting regularly the with glaze. Cook only for about 1-2 minutes per side, until the fish is just cooked. Serve with salad greens, or herbs seasoning with Japanese pepper.
Simple Shrimp Yakitori Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry sake, sherry or white wine
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 18 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Yakitori skewers, or bamboo ones, soaked in water
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Method
Mix together the soy sauce, mirin, molasses, sake, Worcestershire sauce and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil while dissolving the sugar. Then lower the temperature and simmer for 1-2 minutes to reduce the volume and concentrate the sauce. Set aside to cool. Stir the shrimp through the half of the sauce and marinade for 10-15 minutes. Preheat your grill or barbecue. Thread the shrimp onto the skewers. Grill the shrimp for 2 minutes brushing several times with the reserved marinade. Cooke the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side. To serve brush with some of the reserved marinade and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
Fish Yakitori Recipes with Spring Onions
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of Sugar
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of Sesame seeds, lightly toasted&
- 6 Spring onions, sliced into 2 cm (1 inch) long pieces
- 2 Thick fish fillets or cutlets, sliced into 2 cm (1 inch) long pieces
- 8 Yakitori or bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for about 1/2 an hour
Method
Place 2 pieces of fish on each skewer separated by 1 piece of spring onion. Place skewers in a shallow, non-metallic dish. Mix the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sugar together in a bowl. Pour this sauce over the skewers in a glass, ceramic or metal dish and set aside to marinate for 30-60 minutes. Preheat your grill of barbecue. Grill the skewers over high heat for several minutes a side until. Serve the skewers sprinkled with sesame seeds and so chopped herbs (including the chopped spring onion tops).
Vegetarian Eggplant Aubergine Yakitori
Ingredients
- 16 sections of fresh pineapple
- 1/4 cup vegetarian teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
- 2 teaspoons of black and white sesame seeds
- 3-4 small Italian or Japanese eggplants (or other varieties), sliced into 16 rounds
Method
Preheat your grill or barbecue to moderate-high. Add the teriyaki sauce to the eggplant and pineapple pieces in a shallow dish. Mix and set aside to marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature. Insert 2 pineapple pieces and 2 eggplant rounds or pieces onto the skewers and lightly brush with oil. Grill the skewers for 3-5 minutes per side, until the eggplant is tender. Serve immediately after sprinkling with sesame seeds, herbs and green onion.
