Yakitori (焼き鳥, "grilled bird") is one of Japan's most beloved eating formats — small pieces of chicken (and every part of the chicken) threaded on bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal. The name technically means "grilled bird" but almost always refers to chicken specifically.
Yakitori's genius is the same as Korean BBQ's: small portions allow you to order many different things. At a proper yakitori restaurant (yakitori-ya), a table of two might order 15-20 individual skewers over the course of an evening — a few of each cut, some with tare sauce, some with just salt, constantly rotating through different flavors and textures from the same animal.
The Cuts: What to Order
Negima (ねぎま) — Chicken Thigh + Leek
The most ordered yakitori skewer. Alternating cubes of boneless chicken thigh and Japanese leek (negi), grilled until the leek chars slightly and the chicken is juicy. Order tare (sauce). The leek absorbs the tare and softens; the sweetness of the caramelized leek against the savory chicken is the essential yakitori experience.
Order: First. Multiple times. The benchmark for the restaurant's quality.
Momo (もも) — Chicken Thigh Plain
The same boneless chicken thigh as negima but without the leek — just chicken, cut into pieces, skewered. Allows the chicken flavor itself to be evaluated. Order shio (salt) to appreciate the meat.
Order: If you want to taste the chicken quality itself.
Tsukune (つくね) — Chicken Meatball
Ground chicken formed around a skewer and grilled with tare. Often served with a raw egg yolk for dipping — the yolk transforms the tare into a richer sauce. One of the most complex yakitori skewers; varies widely between restaurants.
Order: Always. The egg yolk dipping is worth the experience.
Torikawa (とりかわ) — Chicken Skin
Chicken skin wound around a skewer in layers, grilled until the fat renders and the exterior becomes extremely crispy. The most calorie-dense yakitori cut. Not suitable for every palate; beloved by regulars.
Order: If you like crispy fat. Order shio.
Tebasaki (手羽先) — Chicken Wing
Whole wings, grilled. Requires eating with your hands. The cartilage between the joint becomes tender. Order tare.
Order: If you want something more substantial and don't mind finger food.
Bonjiri (ぼんじり) — Chicken Tail
The fatty pope's nose — the tail section. Extremely fatty, almost melt-in-mouth texture when properly grilled. Requires removing a small bone before eating.
Order: If you eat every part of the animal.
Seseri (せせり) — Chicken Neck Meat
The small amount of meat around the neck. Surprisingly flavorful, with a slightly chewier texture than thigh. Well-exercised muscle.
Order: If available — it's not at every restaurant.
Rebaa (レバー) — Chicken Liver
Chicken liver, served just barely cooked (nama style at serious restaurants — still pink in the center). The Japanese standard for offal. Rich, creamy, mineral-tasting. Order shio.
Order: If you eat liver. The properly cooked version at a good restaurant is completely different from overcooked liver.
Sunagimo (砂肝) — Chicken Gizzard
The grinding organ. Extremely chewy, slightly crunchy at the center, with a mild mineral flavor. The texture is the main appeal — deeply satisfying to chew.
Order: If you enjoy texture contrast. Order shio.
Hatsu (ハツ) — Chicken Heart
Heart muscle, with a slightly firmer texture than liver and a lighter flavor. More accessible than other offal.
Order: A good entry point to yakitori offal.
Nankotsu (なんこつ) — Cartilage
Chicken cartilage, skewered and grilled. Crunchy, slightly squeaky. The flavor is mild; the texture is the point.
Order: For texture variety.
Shishamo (ししゃも) and Other Non-Chicken Items
Many yakitori restaurants also grill other items: shishamo (small smelts), quail eggs, asparagus wrapped in bacon, cherry tomatoes, mochi-wrapped in nori, and various vegetables. These appear on the menu alongside the chicken items but are not technically yakitori.
The Two Seasonings
Tare (タレ) — Sauce
Sweet soy sauce reduced with mirin and sake. Applied during grilling in layers, building to a lacquered, glossy crust. The base tare is similar across restaurants but each restaurant's specific recipe varies — some add fruit, honey, or dried sardines to their base. A restaurant's tare is often kept active for years, accumulating depth from previous cookings.
When to order tare: Chicken thigh, tsukune, tebasaki, wings, any cut where sweetness complements the fat.
Shio (塩) — Salt
Plain sea salt, applied dry just before or during grilling. Allows the natural flavor of the chicken to come through unmediated.
When to order shio: Chicken skin (the sweetness of tare would overwhelm the crispy fat), liver, gizzard, neck meat, more delicate cuts.
The professional recommendation: Start with negima tare and momo shio at any new restaurant. These two skewers tell you almost everything about the kitchen's quality — the tare, the char, the chicken sourcing.
The Charcoal
Serious yakitori restaurants use binchotan — Japanese white charcoal made from ubame oak. Binchotan burns at very high temperature (up to 1000°C surface) with almost no smoke or flame, producing a clean, radiative heat that sears the exterior of the chicken without the acrid smokiness of regular charcoal.
The binchotan grill allows for fine-grained temperature control through distance and placement. Yakitori chefs manage multiple skewers at different distances from the coals simultaneously, moving skewers toward or away from the heat based on each cut's cooking needs.
At home, binchotan is expensive but available at Japanese kitchen stores and online. A good alternative is Japanese lump charcoal (nara sumi). Standard briquettes work for flavor but burn differently and are harder to control.
At the Restaurant
Ordering format: In Japan, you order skewers individually or a minimum set. Prices range from ¥150-600 per skewer at casual restaurants, up to ¥1500+ at premium establishments.
Pacing: Order 4-6 skewers to start. The kitchen grills to order, so skewers arrive 1-2 at a time, still hot. Order more as you finish.
Pairing: Beer, highball (whisky + soda), or sake. The strong sweet-savory flavors of yakitori work well with light, carbonated drinks.
The ordering sequence (traditional): Start with lighter cuts (momo shio, seseri) to appreciate the chicken quality, then move to richer cuts (negima tare, torikawa), then offal (liver, gizzard), and finish with tsukune.
Making Yakitori at Home
The grill: A konro (Japanese rectangular tabletop charcoal grill) is the home cooking equivalent. About $50-80 for a standard size. Use with binchotan or Japanese charcoal.
Without a konro: A standard charcoal chimney with a grate over it works for smaller batches. Or a cast iron ridged grill pan over maximum stovetop heat — not as good but workable.
The tare (for home cooking):
- 100ml soy sauce
- 80ml mirin
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Simmer 8-10 minutes until reduced by 30%. Cool and use as both a basting sauce during grilling (applied 2-3 times) and a dipping sauce.
Skewering: Bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes. Soak longer if using high-heat charcoal.
Yakitori Restaurants to Know (Japan)
- Toriki (鳥幸) — Tokyo's most famous yakitori restaurant; exclusively offal, 4-month waiting list
- Birdland — Ginza, premium kaiseki-style yakitori
- Yakiton restaurants — similar format but using pork (buta) instead of chicken; often found in older shitamachi neighborhoods
The yakitori category also includes yakiton (pork offal skewers, particularly associated with the Yurakucho area under the train tracks in Tokyo), negima-ya (restaurants specializing in the negima cut), and stand-up yakitori bars (tachigui) where you eat standing at the grill with a beer.
The full recipes live in the book.
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