Japanese Yakitori Recipe — Grilled Chicken Skewers with Tare Sauce

The word yakitori means "grilled bird." In practice it means any grilled skewer at a yakitori restaurant, including chicken liver, cartilage, skin, tail, and every other part. But the home cook version centers on two skewers: momo (chicken thigh) with tare sauce, and negima (chicken and scallion) alternated on the same skewer.

The tare sauce is the heart of the dish. In real yakitori restaurants, the tare pot sits permanently next to the grill and never empties — it's topped up and maintained indefinitely, absorbing the drippings from thousands of skewers over years. The flavor is irreplicable. A home version made from scratch tastes entirely different from a three-year-old restaurant tare. Make the tare anyway: it's excellent.

The Tare Sauce

Make this at least an hour ahead, or the day before. The sauce needs time to mellow.

• 100ml soy sauce
• 100ml mirin
• 50ml sake
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Optional: 1 chicken wing or back bone (adds depth)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat 15-20 minutes, stirring, until reduced by about one-third to a thick, glossy sauce that coats a spoon. Cool completely. Store in a jar.

To build flavor: After the first round of grilling, add any drippings from the grill pan or tray into the tare.

The Skewers

Momo (thigh, most popular):

• 400g boneless chicken thighs, skin on
• Cut into 2-3cm cubes. Thread 4-5 pieces per skewer, pushing them tightly together.
• Skin-on pieces should be threaded so the skin faces the same direction (it will crisp against the grill).

Negima (chicken and scallion):

• Alternate chicken thigh cubes with 3cm sections of scallion (white and light-green parts only).
• 3 pieces chicken, 2-3 pieces scallion per skewer.

Tsukune (chicken meatball):

• 250g ground chicken + 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 tbsp minced scallion + 1 tsp ginger (grated) + 1 egg yolk
• Mix until sticky. Mold onto flat skewers in a cylindrical shape.

Soak bamboo skewers in cold water 30 minutes minimum before grilling to prevent burning.

Grilling Method

Grill or grill pan: High heat. Oil the grates lightly. Place skewers. Cook 2-3 minutes per side without moving.

The basting: This is the critical technique. As the skewers cook, brush with tare using a pastry brush after each turn. The tare creates a lacquered, slightly charred coating. Baste, turn, baste, turn — at least 3-4 applications per skewer.

Final glaze: On the last turn, apply one generous coat of tare. Cook 30 seconds. Remove.

Shio (salt) version: For a cleaner flavor that shows the quality of the chicken, skip the tare entirely and season only with fine sea salt before and after grilling. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Serving

Yakitori is served with cold beer (the combination is one of Japan's most perfect food pairings), a small bowl of shichimi togarashi (seven-spice powder) for sprinkling, and white rice or onigiri.

For a full yakitori meal, serve 6-8 skewers per person with a variety of cuts and styles.

---

Yakitori scales effortlessly from a weeknight dinner (10 skewers, 25 minutes) to a full izakaya-style spread for a group (prep in advance, grill to order as people arrive). The tare keeps in the refrigerator for weeks and improves with each use.