Chicken Yakitori

Sherrie was over for dinner tonight. Usually we order out, but I was feeling more like grilling. I threw this together in no time and was glad I did. 

I let this bad boy marinade for 8 hours and it was worth it. So much flavor in the chicken! I'll make this one again for sure. 

What I didn't do, though, was boil down the marinade after the chicken had been in it and use said marinade to baste the chicken. Blech. I know. I know. Cooking "kills" the chicken goobers, but I'm not that trusting of a person. 

Besides, it really didn't need it anyhow. 

Chicken Yakitori

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 8

• 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs chopped into 1 1/2-2” pieces**
• 3 T olive oil
• YAKITORI SAUCE/MARINADE
• 1/2 c reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c Asian sweet chili sauce (like Mae Ploy)
• 1/4 c water
• 2 T sweet Japanese rice wine (mirin)
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper

GARNISH (OPTIONAL)

green onions

sesame seeds

Asian chili sauce/Sriracha

Whisk together all of the Marinade/Sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Remove ⅓ cup sauce and add to a large bowl or freezer bag and whisk in olive oil. Add chicken and marinate 30 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator (the longer the better). Refrigerate remaining sauce separately.

When ready to cook, thread chicken onto skewers, folding thin pieces almost in half so you skewer through both the top and bottom.

Add reserved Yakitori Sauce to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Simmer and whisk until thickened but not too thick (consistency of BBQ sauce), about 3 minutes.

Baste chicken with some of the Yakitori sauce the last minute of cooking on each side (the outside of the chicken should be cooked/opaque at this point so it won’t cross contaminate the sauce). Actual cooking time will depend on thickness of chicken and temperature of grill.

Brush cooked chicken once more with sauce.