Yakitori
Charcoal-grilled chicken skewers glazed with tare. · Japan
Charcoal-grilled chicken skewers glazed with tare.
About Yakitori
Bite-sized pieces of chicken — every part, from thigh to skin — are skewered and grilled over binchotan charcoal, brushed with a sweet-savoury tare or just salt. It is the classic accompaniment to a cold beer after work.
🏛️ History & Culture
Yakitori, literally "grilled chicken," has roots that are debated among food historians. Some trace its origins to the Edo period, when small skewers of meat were cooked over charcoal, but the modern form—featuring every part of the chicken—is widely associated with the post-World War II era, when street stalls in cities like Tokyo popularized it as affordable, quick food. Its exact birthplace is not clearly documented, but its rise as a staple of casual dining is well established.
Regionally, yakitori varies primarily in seasoning: the Kansai area often favors salt, while the Kanto region leans toward a sweet-savory tare sauce brushed on during grilling. The choice of cuts also differs, with some regions offering rare parts like skin, cartilage, or heart, while others focus on thigh and breast. Culturally, yakitori is inseparable from izakaya culture, where it is served alongside cold beer as an after-work ritual, embodying a relaxed, communal dining experience that bridges street food and pub fare.
🍳 How to make Yakitori
AI-assisted, not kitchen-testedYakitori (Japanese Grilled Chicken Skewers)
Yakitori is Japan's iconic bite-sized grilled chicken, traditionally cooked over smoking-hot binchotan charcoal. Skewers are brushed with a glossy sweet-savoury tare sauce or finished simply with salt (shio), and eaten alongside a cold beer.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Recipe ingredients
- 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) boneless chicken thigh, skin-on, cut into bite-sized pieces; include skin and scallion segments if desired
- 120 ml (½ cup) soy sauce, Japanese shoyu
- 120 ml (½ cup) mirin, sweet Japanese rice wine
- 60 ml (¼ cup) sake, dry cooking sake
- 20 g (4 tsp) sugar, granulated
- 4 g (1 tsp) fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 4 stalks scallion, cut into 4 cm pieces for negima
- 2 g (½ tsp) fine sea salt, for shio-style skewers
- 24 skewers bamboo skewers, soaked in water 30 min to prevent burning
Steps
- 1 Make the tare: combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and reduce gently for 6–8 minutes until syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain and keep warm; reserve a small portion for basting and the rest for dipping.
- 2 Prepare the chicken: pat dry and cut into roughly 3 cm (1¼ in) pieces, keeping skin-on thigh pieces intact. For negima, alternate folded chicken pieces with 4 cm (1½ in) scallion segments.
- 3 Thread onto skewers: slide 4–5 pieces of chicken onto each soaked bamboo skewer, weaving slightly so pieces lock in place. For negima, alternate chicken and scallion.
- 4 Heat the grill: if using binchotan, light until covered with a thin layer of grey ash; coals should be 10–15 cm (4–6 in) from the cooking surface. Otherwise, preheat a gas grill to high (around 250°C / 480°F) or use a cast-iron grill pan over high heat. A wire mesh placed over coals is traditional.
- 5 Cook the salt (shio) skewers first: lightly salt both sides of 8 skewers and grill 3–4 cm from the heat. Turn every 1–2 minutes; chicken is safely cooked when juices run clear and the thickest piece reads 74°C (165°F) on an instant-read thermometer, about 6–8 minutes total.
- 6 Cook the tare skewers: grill the remaining skewers plain (without tare) for about 4 minutes, turning frequently, until the chicken reaches 70°C (158°F). Brush generously with tare and continue to cook 1–2 minutes, turning and basting, until the glaze is glossy, lightly charred, and the internal temperature reaches 74°C (165°F).
- 7 Rest 1 minute, then serve immediately on the skewers with the reserved tare in a small dipping bowl, a wedge of lemon if desired, and a cold Japanese beer.
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Yakitori — frequently asked questions
What is Yakitori?
Bite-sized pieces of chicken — every part, from thigh to skin — are skewered and grilled over binchotan charcoal, brushed with a sweet-savoury tare or just salt. It is the classic accompaniment to a cold beer after work.
What is Yakitori made of?
Yakitori is made with chicken, tare glaze, scallion, charcoal and salt.
Where does Yakitori come from?
Yakitori comes from Japan, and is especially associated with Tokyo. Yakitori, literally "grilled chicken," has roots that are debated among food historians.
Where can I eat Yakitori?
A smoky yakitori-ya under the train tracks in Tokyo.
How do you make Yakitori?
Making Yakitori at home takes about 25 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe on this page serves 4 and is rated medium. Full ingredient list and step-by-step method are in the recipe section above.
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