How to Make Yakitori: 5 Tips for Making Homemade Yakitori

Yakitori, from yaki, meaning grilled, and tori, chicken, is a Japanese dish of grilled chicken skewers. To make yakitori, a chef cooks the skewers over a narrow charcoal grill, continuously turning the small pieces of chicken over glowing-hot binchotan (activated white charcoal used primarily for culinary purposes). The meat is cooked until every piece is juicy, flavorful, with the right amount of char.

Grilled chicken is often the center of yakitori, but the offerings of a yakitori restaurant are vast. These offerings include chicken thighs with scallion (negima), chicken breasts (mune), individually grilled wings (tebasaki), gizzards (sunagimo), bits of crispy chicken skin (kawa), chicken meatballs (tsukune), chicken hearts (hatsu), and chicken livers (reba). Yakitori—the true soul mate of cold beer—is also a popular offering at izakayas (Japanese gastropubs) or served as an appetizer with bowls of ramen.

The beauty of yakitori lies in the simplicity of its seasonings. The most common are:

1. 1. Salt and white pepper. The chicken speaks for itself in this minimalistic treatment that involves a generous coating of salt (shio) and white pepper.
2. 2. Tare. Tare, a common yakitori seasoning, is a glaze consisting of soy sauce, sake, brown sugar, and sweet mirin (Japanese rice wine). If you don’t have tare in your pantry, teriyaki sauce makes a great substitute.
3. 3. Togarashi, and a squeeze of lemon. For a little extra heat, season the finished chicken with a bit of togarashi (a seasoning blend typically composed of nori, sesame seeds, ground sanshō, red chili pepper, and ground ginger) and a quick spritz from a lemon wedge.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when making yakitori at home:

1. 1. Use the right skewers. It’s not required, but you can find yakitori skewers (teppo gushi) in most Asian grocery stores. The skewers taper to a flat end, making it easier to rotate the chicken over the grates while it cooks. Soaking the skewers in a shallow bowl of water will make them easier to thread.
2. 2. Control the heat. Cook yakitori over medium heat for a more consistent, controllable result. Cooking the skewers on high heat can result in an uneven cook.
3. 3. Start simple. Making yakitori at home is most straightforward when using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They’re easy to portion out into smaller cuts, more flavorful than breasts, and relatively forgiving while you’re getting the hang of the timing.
4. 4. Season as you cook. Seasoning takes yakitori skewers to the next level. They’re seasoned throughout the cooking process, instead of just once at the beginning, making for a more nuanced, juicy bite.
5. 5. Crowd the skewer. Leaving too much room between chicken pieces on the skewer can dry it out. The tighter the pieces of chicken are on the skewer, the less moisture they’ll lose as they cook.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make yakitori negima (chicken thighs with scallion) at home:

1. 1. Prep the meat and veggies. First, prepare the meat: Cut boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite-sized cubes, and set them aside. Slice two to three large scallions crosswise into thick, inch-long pieces.
2. 2. Stack the skewers. Alternate pieces of chicken and scallion on a pre-soaked bamboo skewer, placing them snug up against one another, about four to five pieces per skewer.
3. 3. Grill. Place the skewers on a preheated and oiled grill over medium heat, season with salt and white pepper, and grill, rotating every few minutes or so, adding a small pinch of salt intermittently, until the meat is evenly charred, cooked through, and juicy.
4. 4. Finish. Brush with tare glaze or teriyaki sauce, and enjoy.

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