Yakitori (Japanese Grilled Skewered Chicken Meatballs)

• Yakitori (焼き鳥),  or grilled chicken, refers to a Japanese Skewered Grilled Chicken. The term “yakitori” can also refer to skewered food in general.
• Yakitori is made with several bite-sized pieces of chicken meat, mounted on a bamboo skewer and grilled, usually over charcoal.
• Diners ordering yakitori usually have a choice of having it cooked with salt (shio), or with tare sauce; a combination of of Mirin – a sweet Japanese Rice Wine, Sake – Stronger Japanese Rice Wine, Shoyu – Japanese Soya Sauce and sugar. The sauce is applied to the skewered meat which is grilled until delicately cooked.
• Grill as meatballs or as plain skewers . Scroll down to see the slideshow of steps.

Yakitori (Japanese Grilled Skewered Chicken Meatballs)

Slideshow showing Steps

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Ingredients: – 

For Meatballs

• 12 oz/  1 ½ cups skinless, boneless chicken leg
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 2 tsp corn flour
• 6 Tbsp Japanese Panko OR dried bread crumbs
• 2 ” Fresh Ginger- Crushed

For Sauce

• 6 Tbsp sake or chinese rice wine
• 6 Tbsp Soba Sauce
• 1 ½ Tbsp Mirin
• 1 ½ Tbsp  Sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour mixed in 2 tsp water

Optional

• Black pepper or Shichimi tōgarashi. See notes

Method:

• Combine all ingredients for meatballs in food processor except ginger and mince.
• Squeeze only the juice of the ginger into this mince and mix.
• Wet hands and form into small lime sized balls.
• Bring water in a wide saucepan to simmer. Add all the balls, spaced evenly. Leave undisturbed.
• Cover and simmer for 4 – 7 minutes just till the chicken turns white and floats.
• Drain.
• Prepare the sauce: Add all the ingredients for the sauce (except cornflour solution) in a small sauce pan.
• Bring to boil Then simmer covered for 5 minutes till reduced.
• Now add the cornflour solution and thicken. Take off heat.
• Secure the balls onto soaked wooden Skewers a half inch apart from eachother.
• Brush with the prepared sauce till uniformly covered. We should have enough sauce leftover for basting and dipping later remaining.
• Preheat oven.
• You may Grill, Broil or Barbecue , basting frequently  about 8 minutes.If Broiling in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to medium high and broil.
• Serve Hot!

Yakitori (Japanese Grilled Skewered Chicken Meatballs)

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Notes:

• You may sprinkle some black pepper or for more authenticity Shichimi tōgarashi (Japanese: 七味唐辛子, “seven flavor chili pepper“), to the grilled meatballs before serving!
• You can substitute the alcoholic ingredients, with a combination of grape juice, rice vinegar, ginger juice and lime juice.
• Instead of mincing the meat, the chicken can be cut into small bitesize pieces instead and rolled in remaining meatball ingredients.

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