Chicken & Scallion Yakitori with Tare Glaze

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Japanese izakaya-style chicken skewers built the way the grill masters do it: thigh meat and thick scallion batons threaded tight, salted, and cooked over high heat until the skin crisps. A four-ingredient tare of soy, sake, mirin and sugar simmers down to a glossy syrup, then goes on only in the last minute so the sugars lacquer instead of scorch. Works on a charcoal grill, a gas grill, or your oven's broiler.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soy sauce (Japanese, such as Kikkoman)
• 1/2 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup sake
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into coins
• 2 scallion tops (green parts, reserved from below)

• 2 lb boneless, skin-on chicken thighs (or skinless if that's what you can find)
• 8 fat scallions, white and pale green parts only
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp neutral oil, for the grate
• 12 bamboo skewers, 6 to 8 inches long

• 1 tsp shichimi togarashi or toasted sesame seeds
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 20 minutes so the exposed ends don't incinerate. If broiling, you can also wrap the handle ends in foil.
2. Make the tare: combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic, ginger and the reserved scallion tops in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until reduced by roughly one third and syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should measure about 2/3 cup. Strain into a small bowl and set aside; it thickens further as it cools.
3. Trim the chicken: pull off any loose fat but keep the skin. Cut the thighs into 1 to 1 1/4 inch pieces — aim for cubes rather than flat strips so they stay juicy. You want about 36 pieces.
4. Cut the scallion whites and pale greens into 1 1/4 inch batons; you need about 24.
5. Thread each skewer alternating chicken and scallion: chicken, scallion, chicken, scallion, chicken. Push the pieces snugly together so they support each other, and run the skewer through the chicken skin so it stays anchored. Season all over with the kosher salt.
6. Set up the heat. Charcoal or gas grill: build a hot fire, about 450 to 500°F, and scrub then oil the grate. Broiler: position an oven rack 5 to 6 inches from the element, set a wire rack inside a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, oil the rack, and preheat the broiler on high for 5 minutes.
7. Grill the skewers over direct heat for 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, until the chicken is browned and releases easily, then flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Under the broiler, cook 6 minutes on the first side and 4 to 5 minutes on the second. If flare-ups happen, move the skewers to a cooler part of the grate for a moment rather than fighting the fire.
8. Check for doneness: the thickest chicken piece should register 175°F on an instant-read thermometer and the scallions should be blistered and soft.
9. Now glaze. Brush the tare generously over both sides and return the skewers to the heat for 30 to 45 seconds per side, just until the glaze bubbles and turns glossy. Repeat once more for a deeper lacquer, watching closely — sugar goes from shiny to bitter fast.
10. Pile the skewers on a platter, brush with one last thin coat of tare, dust with shichimi togarashi or sesame seeds, and serve hot with lemon wedges.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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