Yakitori

Yakitori being grilled
Yakitori as street food, with salty and sweet sauce

Yakitori (Japanese: 焼き鳥, lit. grilled chicken) is a Japanese type of skewered chicken.

The preparation of Yakitori involves skewering the meat with kushi (串?) , a type of skewer typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials. Afterwards, they are grilled over a charcoal fire. During or after cooking, the meat is typically seasoned with tare sauce or salt.[1]

Preparation

As they are designed for convenience and portability, yakitori are typically cooked using methods that come step by step Traditionally, this was accomplished by using portable charcoal grills. This is the method most often employed by yatai, however, restaurants may use stationary grills, and depending on the situation, higher quality binchōtan charcoal.

For home use, various appliances known as takujō konro (卓上コンロ, "mini griller")[2] or yakitori-ki (焼き鳥器, "Yakitori device") are used. Yakitori-ki are small electrical appliances which use a heating element similar to that of a broiler or toaster to cook the food placed on top.

Several yakitori in food court areas
Yakitori are sold at sports matches

In order to facilitate even cooking, the meat is cut into small, roughly uniform shapes and then skewered with kushi; after which the yakitori are seasoned and cooked. Charcoal is the preferred method of cooking as it produces high heat and strong flames while giving off little to no water vapor. This allows for the ingredients to cook quickly while imparting a crunchy texture to the skin. While gas and electric heat sources can be used, they do not develop the same aromas or textures as charcoal-cooked yakitori.

Seasoning

Yakitori seasonings are primarily divided among two types: salty or salty-sweet. The salty type usually uses plain salt as its main seasoning. For the salty-sweet variety, tare, a special sauce consisting of mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar is used. Other common spices include powdered cayenne pepper, shichimi, Japanese pepper, black pepper, and wasabi, according to one's tastes.

Sales

Yakitori-ya (焼き鳥屋) are small shops specializing in yakitori. They usually take the form of a compact shop offering take-out services only,[3] but sit-down restaurants and restaurant chains are also popular.[1]

Yakitori isn't limited to speciality shops, however. It is readily found on the menus of izakaya all across Japan, and also sold pre-cooked, as frozen vacuum packs, or even canned, the latter of which was made popular by Hotei Foods Corporation which is the first company that started selling yakitori-in-can in 1970,[4] with 9 flavors as of 2016. Their TV commercial song has been iconic to their brand name.[5] Due to its ease of preparation and portability, yakitori is a very popular street food, often sold from small carts and stalls known as yatai. Yatai are found, among other places, dotting streets during festivals or on heavily trafficked routes during the evening commute where customers will enjoy beer and sake with yakitori.[6]

Kushiyaki

Kushiyaki (串焼き), is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled. Both yakitori and kushiyaki are used interchangeably in Japanese society to refer to skewered meat collectively; however, when referring to a specific item, yakitori will not be used unless the primary meat is chicken. While using pork, grilled pork on skewers are cooked with the same sauce as yakitori, and that is why in some areas as Muroran, grilled pork on skewers are called "yakitori", instead of yakiton (やきとん, skewered and grilled pork).

Examples

Yakitori

Due to a wide diversity in cuts and preparation methods,[1] yakitori takes on many forms. Some popular examples include:

Kushiyaki

The following examples are not yakitori in the strictest sense of the word, and are better classified as "kushiyaki", as they do not use poultry.

Muroran yakitori is actually pork, not chicken

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Yakitori (Roast meat on skewers), dated 10 May, 2010". Gurunavi. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  2. ↑ "jūshībōi". Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  3. ↑ Kawaguchi, Judit. "People - Words to Live by: Chicken one day doesn't mean feathers on the next". the Japan Times. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  4. ↑ "catalog - cooked meat cans". Hotei Foods Corporation. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  5. ↑ "CM gallery". Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  6. ↑ Goss, Rob (2014-11-18). Tokyo Tuttle Travel Pack: Your Guide to Tokyo's Best Sights for Every Budget. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. p. 66.

See also

Further reading

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