Kitchen Cats: Yakitori 2

When I first made this recipe last month (May 22 blog), we loved it and knew we would want to make it often. But last time I did not follow most of the details of the recipe. The key to the recipe is to make the initial wine-soy sauce mixture, boil it and let it sit, then divide it up for 2 uses -- 2 Tbsp to be part of the marinade for the chicken, and the remainder to become the basting/dipping sauce. In my last post, I didn't use the cilantro, and I didn't let the chicken and sauce marinate before grilling. I also didn't make the dipping/basting sauce at all (which is a combination of the reserved wine-soy sauce plus rice vinegar and sesame oil).

This time I followed the recipe to the letter, and again it was fantastic, probably better. Not having either sake or enough mirin, I used 1 cup of a dry Riesling, and the sauce was great. The only change I'd make next time is to add less than the full Tablespoon of sesame oil to the sauce. I didn't like how oily it looked afterwards.

Yakitori

1 cup sake (or white wine)
1/4 cup Tbsp sugar
3.5 Tbsp soy sayce
1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1.5 - 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
5 garlic cloves, crushed
5 cilantro sprigs

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil

9 green onions, cut into 2" pieces

1) Combine sake (or wine), sugar, soy sauce, ginger in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let rest 15 minutes.

2) Remove ginger with slotted spoon and place in a medium bowl. Take 2 Tbsp of the soy sauce mixture (above) and add it to the ginger in the bowl. Add crushed red pepper, CHICKEN, garlic, and cilantro. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

3) Bring remaining soy sauce mixture to a boil, and let cook at 10 minutes, until reduced to 1/4 cup. Remove from heat and whisk in the rice vinegar and sesame oil. Divide this soy sauce mixture into 2 portions (one for basting chicken, another for a dipping sauce)

4) Thread chicken pieces and green onion onto skewers. Place skewers on grill rack. Cover and grill for ~ 8 minutes (longer?) or until done (turning at 4 minutes), and basting with reserved soy sauce mixture.