Unconventional Japanese Yakitori

~ Japanese Yakitori with Vegetables ~

Japanese Yakitori is traditionally known to be grilled chicken skewered on stick with all kinds of chicken parts. There are 2 types of Yakitori, a salty one, which is plain, and a salty sweet one, with a thickened sweetened sauce dipped after grilling is done. When I first exposed to this, I associated it to the Malaysian or Singaporean Satay, except that the sauces are very different in these two popular food.

Inspired by what my chef brother said on a skewer catering occasion for a preschool, I have included vegetable cubes in my Yakitori skewer for grilling to ensure a more balanced meal for the family. He said, “Kids will have to bite off the vegetable bits first before they could bite on the meat.”. Never did I know, my 3 years old girl being kid of these days is so smart, she bite-off the meat part from the middle of the skewer! So much so of a trick but one can really get counter tricked by these little monsters. How hilarious!

I was of the opinion that a variety of vegetables with meat cubes on stick makes them more appetising for my hubby whom is not so much of a meat person. However, he still complains about the chicken taste being too “meaty” for him. Perhaps I will have to try making him Tofu Yakitori next time.

In this recipe, I have cooked the sweet salty type of Yakitori. Beating the norm, I omitted sake in my sauce recipe as I wanted to make it alcohol free for my little girl. The sauce is not illustrated in the photos below as it was so simple to make that I have forgotten to snap a few photos during the making process like I usually do.

I have to admit that the skewering process is not as easy as I imagined it to be, especially when I am not a regular. I accidentally poked my index finger to bleed when I was trying to skewer the 5^th stick. Not too bad as I did not have that on skewering the 1st stick, right? So, you might want to get yourself prepared with some bandages as part of the essential item in the Yakitori recipe list (just in case)!

Yakitori with Vegetables Recipe (yield 10 sticks) :

A. Yakitori Sauce

1. 100ml Soy Sauce
2. 50grams Brown Sugar
3. 50ml Mirin

 B. Yakitori Sticks

1. 350 grams Skinless Boneless Chicken Thigh (cube & marinate with salt and black pepper over 4 hours)
2. 1/2 teaspoon Salt
3. 1/2 teapoon Black pepper
4. 100 grams Brinjal
5. 100 grams Green Pepper
6. 100 grams Yellow Pepper
7. 100 grams Red Pepper
8. 100 grams Courgette/Zucchini
9. 1/2 Brown Onion
10. 10 Cherry Tamatoes
11. 10 Skewer (bamboo type)

AMC Healthy Cooking Method :

1. In a 16cm Benjamin Pot unit, boil soy sauce with sugar and mirin on a Navigenio with heat level “3” up to 50°C or “Meat Window”. Remove lid and stir mixture. Turn off Navigenio and leave aside to cool.
2. Skew 3 cubed chicken pieces and 3 cubed assorted vegetables onto sticks.
3. Preheat AMC 24cm 2.0 liter Hot Pan unit with Navigenio heat level “3” to 50°C or “Meat Window”. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place on lid knob, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”.
4. When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm. Remove lid and place pan unit on the up-turned lid. Arrange 5 Yakitori sticks at a time into the pre-heated pan unit.
5. Cover pan unit with Navigenio turned upside down. Turn Navigenio on lower heat level “-“ with Audiotherm activated to grill for 10 minutes.
6. When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm. Remove all sticks and pour away liquid into a separate bowl.
7. Dip the grilled Yakitori sticks into the sauce prepared in step 1 earlier.
8. Repeat step 3 to 7 above for the second batch of Yakitori. Serve warm with your favourite rice or noodles.

Tips : You may whip up a waterless vegetable dish with all the vegetables left. Cubed vegetables oxidises quickly and it would be ideal to just cook them and drizzle with some olive oil to add more vegetables to the meal. Alternatively, you may make 100% vegetable skews with them!