Today a Yakitori Master is showing you how to make Negima Yakitori, a Japanese chicken and scallion skewer two ways!
A little background on Yakitori…
Yakitori (焼き鳥) are traditional Japanese chicken skewers. They are a classic izayaka, or Japanese pub, food and many people have good memories around eating yakitori, drinking beers, and chatting with friends. Like many Japanese things, yakitori is its own art. So much so, that there are whole specialty restaurants that serve nothing but yakitori – and one that even has a Michelin star!
Chefs in Japan are serious about this. They source unique chickens breeds, have special relationships with farmers to ensure they have the best chickens, and have special ways of butchering, skewering, and grilling in their own styles. And if you’re thinking “can you really dedicated a whole restaurant just to chicken skewers?” the answer is: yes. They use all parts of the chicken so you have a wide selection of skewers to choose from, like breasts, thighs, and wings, all the way to heart and gizzards.
Negima (ねぎま) is a specific type of yakitori that is made with chicken thighs and scallions. The scallions add a nice brightness and crunch to the juicy, umami-filled chicken. This skewer is my favorite kind. I grew up eating it from local shops and my favorite is a family-owned street stand that I pass by daily in Japan on my walk from my home to the station. I always love to grab just a couple of negima as a snack to enjoy as I walk home after a long day.
To teach you about yakitori, I solicited the help of my friend and yakitori master, Yakitoriguy. He’s sharing two ways of how to make Negima Yakitori along with how to make a simple tare, or yakitori sauce.
March Creator Feature: A little about Yakitoriguy…
Monthly, I feature recipes from fellow creators – whether that be a professional chef, home-cook, or stay-at-home-parent. I am constantly amazed by the creativity of others when it comes to food and I am passionate about sharing these people with my community and beyond.
Yakitoriguy is a “Chicken Eating Officer.” He used to work in tech and now is chasing his yakitori dreams, sharing the art of yakitori with the world. He trains part of the year in Japan with other yakitori masters and shops, and when he comes back to the US, he hosts Yakitori classes, workshops, pop-ups, and private dinners. During COVID, he even started a YouTube channel to show that everyone can make delicious (and accurate) yakitori at home. Being frustrated with seeing so many inaccurate and inauthentic yakitori recipes out there, he spent the past year filming and sharing as much knowledge as he could to the Western audience.
You can find Yakitoriguy on:
Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok!
Yakitoriguy is sharing today how create two kinds of Negimya Yakitori: a Skin-on Negima (medium-level difficulty) and a Super Fusion Tender Pop (advanced level). The Super Fusion Tender Pop is a unique take on Yakitoriguy’s two most popular signature skewers: his “Knee Cartilage Lollipop” and his “Tender AF Skewer” which combined (Dragonball style) into a Super Fusion Tender Pop!
The Super Fusion Tender Pop is insanely juicy and delicious with tons of amazing textures. It utilizes the most tender parts of the chicken.
You can watch Yakitoriguy’s how-to video for the Super Fusion Tender Pop here and keep going to find the written recipes:
Be sure to check out his other videos that show basics of how to make yakitori and how to break down a chicken. You can watch the video for making the Skin-on Negima here.
What about grills?
While yakitori is traditionally made on grills using binchotan charcoal, there are a number of different ways to grill including using a gas grill (outdoors) or a Livart or other electric grill (great for indoor use). Another alternative method is to cook in a toaster oven, air fryer, or regular oven. Time and temperature vary by equipment but you’re looking at approximately 8-12 minutes per skewer. The recipe below will be for a grill and can be applied to charcoal, gas, or electric grills.
You’ll be able to find some grills and other equipment needed to make yakitori down below in the “Shop This Post” section.
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Negima Yakitori 2 Ways (Grilled Chicken Skewers) / 焼き鳥ねぎま
Equipment
- grill
- bamboo skewers
- pot
Ingredients
- chicken thighs you may have to break down a whole chicken to get the oyster and inner thigh for the Super Fusion Tender Pop
- green onions look for thick stems, at least 1 cm
- 200 ml sake
- 200 ml mirin
- 30 ml sugar
- 75 ml soy sauce
- salt
Instructions
Skin-on Negima Prep (refer to Yakitoriguy's Skin-on Negima video linked above)
- Cut the green onion (just the crunchy, meaty white and green parts) into 3cm pieces.
- Debone your thigh meat. Cut the thigh meat with the skin on into 3cm by 4cm pieces.
- Place one green onion between two meats.
- Skewer through the skin, then through the muscle. Roll and pinch the meat and push the skewer through the muscle and out of the skin.
- Skewer the onion through the middle. Then skewer the chicken once again like the previous step.
- Trim the sides to make the skewers neat and even.
Super Fusion Tender Pop Prep (refer to Yakitoriguy's Super Fusion Tender Pop video embedded above)
- Cut the green onion (just the crunchy, meaty white and green parts) into 3cm pieces.
- Trim off the inner thigh. Cut through the oyster and push hard down into the skin.
- The side of the thigh where you cut off the oyster is the fatty thigh. There's a strip of fat going down the side. Cut that section off into 3x5cm pieces.
- Skewer through the inner though on one end. Pinch the inner thigh and skewer through.
- Skewer through the fatty thigh, skin first, then the muscle.
- Skewer through a piece of onion. Then fold the Fatty Thigh over and skewery through,
- Lastly, grab the oyster. Skewer through the skin and muscle. Pinch and roll and pierce out the muscle and skin.
- Trim the sides to clean up.
To make the tare (sauce)
- Add 200 ml sake and 200 ml mirin into a sauce pan or small pot. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature to medium to simmer and evaporate the alcohol. (If you can't find mirin, you can substitute with sake and double up the sugar)
- After 20 minutes of simmering, add 30 ml sugar (about 3 tbsp). Stir and keep the pot simmering.
- After another 20 minutes, add 75 ml of soy sauce, stir, and let it continue to simmer. Make sure to use Japanese soy sauce as the flavor/style is different from Chinese, Southeast Asian, etc. types.
- Continue to simmer for 10-20 minutes until the tare reduces and thickens a bit (but not like ketchup thick). This tare is used for dipping or brushing on.
- Store the yakitori tare in a container with a lid to use for this yakitori and future recipes that require a teriyaki sauce. Glass mason jar or soup takeout container works.
Grilling
- Heat up your outdoor charcoal, gas grill, or indoor electric grill.
- Using your finger or salt shaker, sprikle salt (kosher or sea salt is better than table salt) on top, bottom, and sides of the skewers.
- Spray or brush sake onto your skewers.
- Place skewers skin side down on the grill.
- After a minute or so, when the side of the chicken starts cooking hot, it'll start sweating out chicken juices. Tat the point, flip it over so the hot juices stay on the chicken. This makes sure you get juicy yakitori. Keep flipping every minute and cook the sides as well.
- When the yakitori looks golden on all sides, it's almost done. Dip your yakitori in the tare (or brush it on) and put it back on the grill.
- Caramelize the top and bottom for 30-45 seconds each on the grill.
- Plate and serve immediately.
Notes
Shop this post:
Japanese Binchotan (Charcoal)
Uchiwa (Fan – for grilling)
Yakitori Standing Party Grill
Yakitori Bincho Table Grill
Bamboo Skewers
Soy Sauce / 醬油
Mirin / みりん
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