Yakitori Negima: Chicken, Scallions, and a Pot of Tare

· 3 min read
chicken grilling japanese recipes yakitori

I bought a little yakitori grill, one of those long, narrow konro boxes, and I am completely obsessed. There’s something about the binchotan charcoal glowing away while you fan skewers over it that makes you feel like you actually know what you’re doing, even on the first try. I made negima, the chicken-and-scallion skewers, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop.

The whole thing comes down to two ideas. First, cut everything roughly the same size so it cooks evenly. Second, make a pot of tare, the sweet-savory glaze, and treat it like a sourdough starter. Every time you grill, the drippings build it up a little more. Mine is exactly one batch old, so don’t take dipping advice from me yet, but it already tastes great.

Yakitori Negima (Chicken & Scallion Skewers)

Servings: 4 (about 12 skewers)Prep: 30 minCook: 15 min

Ingredients

For the Skewers
  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 bunch thick scallions (the fat Japanese negi if you can find them, otherwise the biggest green onions you can get)
  • Bamboo skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes
  • Salt
For the Tare
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup mirin
  • 1/2 cup sake
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • A few chicken wings or the trimmings from your thighs
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 1 thin slice ginger

Instructions

Make the Tare
  1. Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and honey in a small saucepan.
  2. Add the chicken trimmings or a couple of wings along with the garlic and ginger. These give the tare body and that savory backbone.
  3. Bring to a simmer and let it reduce gently for 20-30 minutes until it lightly coats a spoon. Don’t walk away at the end, the sugar can catch fast.
  4. Strain into a clean jar. This is your starter. Keep it in the fridge and top it up every time you grill.
Build the Skewers
  1. Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, roughly 1 inch. Keep a little of the fat on, it renders down beautifully over the coals.
  2. Cut the white and light green parts of the scallions into 1-inch batons.
  3. Thread the chicken and scallion alternately: chicken, scallion, chicken, scallion. Pack them snugly so they support each other.
Grill
  1. Get your charcoal to a steady, even glow. You want medium heat, no big flames. Flames mean flare-ups, and flare-ups mean burnt skewers.
  2. Lay the skewers across the grill so the meat is over the coals but the exposed bamboo handles hang off the edge. A little water on the handles or a strip of foil keeps them from burning.
  3. Salt the skewers and grill, turning often, until the chicken is mostly cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.
  4. Now start glazing. Dip each skewer in the tare or brush it on, return to the grill, let it set, and repeat two or three times. Each coat caramelizes into the next.
  5. Pull them when the glaze is glossy and the edges are just starting to char.

Notes

The salt-only version (shio) is great too, so do a few of each and decide which camp you’re in. And don’t skip the scallions, the way they go soft and sweet and a little smoky is half the point of negima.

If you’ve been on the fence about one of these grills, this is your sign. It takes up less room than you’d think, the cleanup is easy, and you get to fan charcoal on your porch like a maniac. Worth every penny.

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