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Japanese

Yakitori (negima)

Non-vegetarian

焼き鳥 · yakitori

Skewers of chicken thigh alternated with spring onion, grilled over high heat and brushed with a glossy soy-mirin tare.

Yakitori (negima) is a Japanese grilled dish, ready in about 45 minutes and made with chicken thigh and spring onion. It serves 3 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
25 min
Cook
20 min
Total
45 min
Serves
3
Level
Easy
Calories
280

Ingredients

3 servings (about 9 skewers)

For the tare

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Soak bamboo skewers (opens in a new tab) in water for at least 20 minutes so they don't burn.

  2. Step 2

    Simmer the soy sauce (opens in a new tab), mirin (opens in a new tab), sake (opens in a new tab) and sugar (opens in a new tab) in a small saucepan (opens in a new tab) until reduced by about a third and syrupy. Set aside.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Thread the chicken and spring onion (opens in a new tab) alternately onto the skewers (opens in a new tab), packing them snugly. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

    • 10 min

    Food safety: Wash hands and boards after handling raw chicken.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Grill over a hot barbecue or under a hot grill, turning often, until nearly cooked. Brush with tare and grill 1–2 minutes more, brushing and turning two or three times until glazed.

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C. Keep the tare used for brushing raw-ish chicken separate from serving sauce.

  5. Step 5

    Serve hot, sprinkled with shichimi if you like.

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Japan · Well documentedMore food from Japan
    Dish
    Dinner · Snack · Grills & kebabs · Street food · Appetizers & starters
    Cooking method
    Grilled, Broiled / grilled under heat
    Taste
    sweet & savoury, smoky, umami, mild
    Diet
    Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Low-fat · Calorie-conscious
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Street food
    Cook more with
    Chicken thigh · Spring onion · Soy sauce · Mirin · Sake · Sugar
    Techniques
    Grilling · Broiling · Charcoal grilling · Simmering · Reduction

    Allergens

    • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom soy sauce
    • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom soy sauce
    • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    280 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 255 g · recipe makes 3

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 59%
    • Carbohydrate 15%
    • Fat 27%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy280 kcal110 kcal
    Protein35.3 g13.9 g
    Carbohydrate9 g3.5 g
    Net carbohydrate8.1 g3.2 g
    Sugars5 g2 g
    Added sugars——
    Fibre1 g0.4 g
    Fat7.1 g2.8 g
    Saturated fat1.9 g0.7 g
    Trans fat0 g0 g
    Cholesterol157 mg62 mg
    Sodium1603 mg630 mg
    Salt equivalent4 g1.6 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    593 mg
    Calcium
    42 mg
    Iron
    2.2 mg
    Magnesium
    63 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    27 µg
    Vitamin C
    6 mg
    Vitamin D
    0 µg
    Vitamin B12
    1 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    29 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: red chilli flakes.
    • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Glaze only at the end — the sugar in the tare burns quickly.

    Common mistakes

    • Brushing on tare from the start — the sugar burns before the chicken cooks. Glaze only at the end.
    • Packing pieces of different sizes on one skewer, so some burn while others stay raw.

    Serve with

    • Serve with cold beer or tea and a simple cabbage salad.

    Storage

    • Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

    Reheating

    • Warm under the grill for a few minutes.

    Variations

    • Shio yakitori: Season with salt only instead of tare, and finish with lemon.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    • Chicken thigh, boneless, cut into 3 cm pieces500 g
    • Spring onion, white and pale green parts cut into 3 cm lengths6 piece · 90 g
    Used in steps 3, 4

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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