Yakitori is a must have dish at a Izakaya place. Izakaya is a wine bar where Japanese hangs out after work for Sake and bar snacks. Yakitori is similar to our local Satay in a way that it is a skewker of chicken meat grilled over charcoal fire. If you do not have a charcoal grill at home, you can use the oven grill to cook the skewers too. Serve with a glass of Sake to complete the yakitori experience!
In a small saucepan, add the mirin, soy sauce, sake, water, brown sugar, and the green part of 1 scallion, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half. It will take about 30 minutes. The sauce will be thicker and glossy. Let it cool to room temperature before using. Reserve 1/3 of the sauce in a small bowl for final coating.
Cut the white and light green part of scallions into 1 inch pieces.
Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Marinate with some salt and pepper for extra flavour.
Alternate each chicken slice with a piece of scallion lined up perpendicular to the skewer. Each skewer will hold about 4 chicken slices and 3 scallion pieces.
Grease the tray to avoid the chicken sticking on the tray. Place the skewers on top.
Set the broiler to high and wait until the heating elements are hot. Broil for 6 minutes.
After 6 minutes, brush the sauce on the meat on both sides and continue to broil for 3-4 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
Transfer the skewers to a serving plate and brush the chicken on top with the reserved sauce
Notes
Boneless thigh can be replaced with any parts of the chicken; mid wings, breast meat etc
For more colours, you can add capsicums to the skewer
For extra spicy kick, add a pinch of togarashi (Japanese chilli flakes) before serving