Delicious Yakitori Chicken Skewers are great for throwing on the barbecue or grill pan and a simple recipe the whole family will love.
I can't remember the first time I tried yakitori chicken, I think it might have been some kind of Japanese Food Mall booth here in Canada.
It's probably not much of a surprise that I love Japanese food. You will a couple of Japanese inspired dishes on here such as my delicious and authentic tasting Chicken Katsu Curry and this Yakitori Chicken and Noodles.
Yakitori translates to Grilled Chicken, but it is the unique marinade that gives the delicious taste. However no two marinades are the same, they can vary slightly in ingredients and methods. Traditionally Yakitori combines Sake - a Japanese fermented rice Alcoholic drink and Mirin - similar to Sake but is a non-alcoholic Rice Wine with much higher sugar content.
For these Yakitori Chicken Skewers - I make a simple marinade using brown sugar, tamari (Japanese soy sauce) and rice wine vinegar. I know you might be tempted to swap the brown sugar for sweetener, but trust me, you won't get the same syrup marinade, that coats the chicken.
Want some other Asian inspired recipes? Then check out some of these recipes:
- BEEF WITH MUSHROOMS IN OYSTER SAUCE
- CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS IN A PEANUT SAUCE
- MONGOLIAN BEEF (STOVE TOP AND ACTIFRY)
- SWEET CHILLI BEEF (STOVE TOP AND ACTIFRY)
- DELICIOUS BEEF TERIYAKI
- QUICK SRIRACHA CHICKEN
- SATAY BEEF AND VEGETABLES
- TERIYAKI CHICKEN AND RICE BOWL
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes and can search by ingredients, course, diet and more.
All with estimated calories, Slimming Eats and Weight Watcher Smart Points values.
Make sure you soak the wooden skewers in some water for about half an hour, prior to skewering on the meat, this will prevent the wooden skewers from going black on the grill. Which won't harm you if they do, but they look nicer when they are not all black.
I also decorate these Yakitori Chicken Skewers, with a little chopped spring onion and some sesame seeds. It just makes them look pretty and if the food looks good then we tender to enjoy it even more.
How can I add a ⅓ speed foods to these Yakitori Chicken Skewers?
I served along with some sesame stir-fried vegetables - carrot batons, sliced zucchini (courgette) and chopped spring onion, which was lightly sauteed in a pan with a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, and some salt and black pepper. Of course, you can keep fat free if you prefer by using spray oil, but the toasted sesame oil adds a lovely flavour which pairs up well with this recipe.
Pretty much any stir-fried veggies will go well with these chicken skewers, you could even add your veggies slices to the skewer sticks with the chicken and grill together.
Kitchen Items used to make these Yakitori Chicken Skewers:
- Wooden Skewers
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Jug or Cups
- Wooden Spoon
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Chopping Board
- Mixing Bowls
- Small Saucepan
- Grill Pan
- Silicone basting brush
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Recipe Card
Yakitori Chicken Skewers
Delicious Yakitori Chicken Skewers are great for throwing on the barbecue or grill pan and a simple recipe the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 600g (21oz) of raw chicken breast, sliced into bitesize pieces
- 3 tablespoons of tamari (soy sauce)
- 3 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon of finely grated ginger root
- ½ cup (120ml) of water
- 6 wooden skewers
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional)
- avocado spray oil
Instructions
- Soak the wooden skewers in some warm water for approx 30 mins (this will skewers prevent from burning)
- Add the Tamari, rice vinegar, water, sugar, garlic and ginger to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly so that it gently bubbles and continue to heat the sauce until it starts to reduce down and go syrupy (this can take approx 12-15 minutes, ensure you keep an eye on it, as otherwise it can evaporate and burn quickly if you leave it unattended. The sauce won't go super thick, you want a syrup that can be brushed on the chicken so it coats it as you cook/grill it)
- Once the wooden skewers have soaked for required time, add the chicken breast pieces to the skewers.
- Heat a grill pan over a medium high heat, (or you can cook on a grill or barbecue) and spray with avocado spray oil
- Add the chicken skewers and grill until brown on all sides, then using a silicone brush, brush the sauce all over the chicken skewers so that is coats the chicken. Do this a few times through the cooking of chicken until it is golden and glazed in the sauce.
- Decorate with sliced spring onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
- Serve and enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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TOMORAL Measuring Cups and Spoons -
TeamFar Saucepan, Professional Stainless Steel Sauce Pan with Lid -
KIKKOMAN Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce 250 ml -
Andrew James Griddle Pan for All Hobs Including Induction | Oven-Proof Non-Stick Aluminium Pan with Removable Handle | Delicious Chargrilled Meat Chicken Fish & Veg -
Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar 355 ml -
Sesame Seeds, Roasted (7.05 oz) By Ottogi
Nutrition Information
Yield 3 Serving Size 2 skewersAmount Per Serving Calories 277Total Fat 2.7gSaturated Fat 0.7gCarbohydrates 17.9gFiber 0.2gSugar 11.7gProtein 47g
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and thereforeJapaneseit would be impossible to give accurate information.
Memoria says
You have tempted me to try these out. I don't know why I've never made or have even eaten food on skewers. I think as a child, I was afraid of hurting myself with the skewers haha.
I have a question. What does "syn" mean?
admin says
syn is a food allowance the UK's slimming world diet. They are really yummy. You should definately give them a go ;).
Lynne says
Oh, and with unlimited rice or noodles on Extra Easy!
Good thing!
admin says
Oh yes indeed 🙂
Ally says
hi, am keen to give these a whirl....do you use the sukrin gold ever as alt to brown sugar??.xx
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Ally, If you look in the write up to the recipe, I have mentioned that real sugar is favoured over sweetener, as you won't get the same syrupy sauce using sweeteners, hope that helps 🙂
Nicole says
I typically like to marinate our chicken overnight or at least for a few hours before grilling. Do you think that can be done with this?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Nicole - I don't recommend marinading in this sauce, as it is likely to burn when cooking. Yakitori is generally grilled pieces of meat that are then brushed we a sticky sauce to create a glaze.
Tamsin says
What am I doing wrong? I’ve made this twice now and the soy sauce mixture never seems to thicken. How long do you need to leave it for to thicken?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Make sure your heat is high enough for it to bubble. It will take quite a while for the sugar to start to turn the sauce to a syrup and thicken. You don't want super thick, but thick enough that it coats the chicken when you brush. So it's important to let the sugar do its thing. Sounds like you are not leaving it to bubble for long enough.
Sam Clark says
Can you use an alternative to rice wine vinegar?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes sure, any white vinegar is fine 🙂
Danielle says
Hi, I can't find brown sugar anywhere at the moment! Is there anything I could use instead?
Thank you
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Danielle, normal sugar should work okay if you can't get brown.