Best Japanese Chicken Water Chestnut And Scallion Yakitori Recipes

Chicken Yakitori with Scallions (Traditional Style Japanese Kebabs) image

Provided by Robert Irvine : Food Network

Time 2h40m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, coating scraped off with the tip of a spoon and finely minced
2 tablespoons sliced scallions, white and tender green parts only (1 or 2 scallions)
1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sake
12 bamboo skewers
2 leeks, white parts only, soaked in salt water to remove grit and sliced on the bias into 1-inch lengths

Steps:

To make the teriyaki sauce, heat the rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and scallions to boiling over medium heat. Let cook for 7 minutes, then whisk in cornstarch slurry and cook for another 3 minutes or so, to allow to thicken. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Arrange the chicken cubes in a shallow nonreactive container such as a glass baking dish. Season with salt and pepper and rub into the chicken. Pour the sake over the chicken and then pour in the teriyaki sauce. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Begin soaking about 12 bamboo skewers in water so they won't burn on the grill.
Heat the grill and thread alternate pieces of chicken and leeks on the skewers. Each skewer should have approximately 3 pieces of chicken, and each serving will consist of 3 skewers. Grill over indirect heat until the chicken is tender but not dry, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Japanese Chicken, Water Chestnut, and Scallion Yakitori image

Yield Makes 12 yakitori, serving 4 to 6

Number Of Ingredients 11

For the marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce (preferably dark Japanese style)
1/2 cup dry Sherry
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh gingerroot
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 wooden skewers for skewering the chicken and vegetables
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into thirty-six 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 bunches of scallions (about 10), the white and pale green parts cut into twenty-four 1 1/2-inch lengths
24 canned whole water chestnuts, rinsed and drained

Steps:

Make the marinade:
In a saucepan whisk together the soy sauce, the Sherry, the sugar, the gingerroot, the garlic, the salt, and pepper to taste and bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved, and let the marinade cool.
On each skewer alternate 3 pieces of chicken with 2 scallion lengths and 2 water chestnuts, skewering the water chestnuts carefully so that they do not split and beginning and ending with the chicken. In a large shallow baking dish arrange the kebabs in one layer, pour the marinade over them, and let the chicken marinate, covered and chilled, turning the kebabs once, for 30 minutes. Arrange the kebabs, reserving the marinade, in one layer on an oiled rack of a broiler pan and broil them under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat, basting them with the marinade for the first 6 minutes, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Discard any remaining marinade.