These Japanese-inspired grilled chicken yakitori skewers are made with boneless chicken thighs and zucchini, marinated in yakitori sauce, and threaded onto skewers with green onions.
Chicken Yakitori
Chicken Yakitori reminds me of my college days in Soho, living on a student budget. My girlfriend and I met after class a few times a week at this cute little Japanese restaurant in the Village where paper origami birds hung from the ceiling. I was broke, so I always ordered the chicken yakitori off the appetizer menu, which came with a bowl of white rice. This re-creation brings me back to those days every time I make them, but I added some zucchini for an extra veggie serving. For more Japanese-inspired recipes, try this Togarashi Chicken and Beef Negimaki Stir Fry.
Chicken Yakitori Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy chicken yakitori recipe, but scroll to the bottom for the exact measurements.
- Mirin is an Asian rice wine with more sugar and less alcohol than sake. It can be found in the Asian section of most supermarkets.
- Soy Sauce: This yakitori recipe is higher in sodium, so I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce.
- Honey’s sweetness balances the saltiness from the mirin and soy sauce.
- Garlic: Crushed garlic infuses the yakitori marinade with a rich, aromatic flavor that complements the other ingredients.
- Chicken: I prefer dark meat to white, so I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs and trim off all the fat.
- Green Onions provide a fresh taste and contrasting texture to the yakitori skewers.
- Zucchini: Slice zucchini and marinate it in the yakitori sauce.
- Bamboo Skewers: Soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to ensure they don’t burn.
How to Make Chicken Yakitori
Here’s how to make the yakitori sauce, marinate the chicken and zucchini, and grill the skewers. The recipe card below has the complete instructions.
- Chicken Yakitori Sauce: Bring the mirin, soy sauce, honey, and garlic to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Marinate the Chicken and Zucchini: Cut the thighs into 1-inch pieces and place them in a zip-locked bag. Put the zucchini in another bag. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken and the other half over the vegetables. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
- Assemble the Skewers: Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with green onions. Do the same with the zucchini and the remaining green onions and reserve the marinade for basting.
- Grill the Yakitori Skewers: Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. When hot, oil the grates and reduce the heat to medium. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, brushing both sides with the yakitori sauce during the last few minutes.
Variations
- Soy Sauce Swaps: Substitute low-sodium tamari if gluten-free or coconut aminos for Whole30.
- Mirin: If you can’t find mirin, replace it with rice wine vinegar.
- Sweetener: Sub maple syrup, agave, or brown sugar for honey.
- Chicken: Use chicken breasts if you prefer white meat.
- Onions: Swap scallions with a red onion or leeks.
- Vegetables: Replace zucchini with yellow squash or mushrooms.
What to Serve with Chicken Yakitori
I love having this healthy chicken yakitori for dinner like I did in college. Below are some serving suggestions.
- Make It a Meal with white rice or fried rice and a salad with this carrot ginger dressing. You could also pair it with wonton soup, sesame orange broccoli, or cabbage mango slaw.
- Appetizer: Serve the chicken skewers at your next party with other appetizers, like these shrimp egg rolls, garlic edamame, and spicy crunchy tuna tartare.
Storage
- Refrigerate the yakitori skewers for four days. Remove the food from the skewers before microwaving.
- Freeze the chicken for up to three months and thaw in the fridge.
FAQ
Yakitori and teriyaki sauce contain similar ingredients, such as mirin, soy sauce, and sugar, but teriyaki sometimes also has fresh ginger.
“Yakitori” means “grilled chicken” in Japanese. The dish consists of marinated chicken pieces threaded onto skewers and grilled. The dish is also made with other types of meat and vegetables.
Cook the chicken yakitori on a grill pan on your stove or broil them in the oven. If you need a recommendation, I have a few grill pans in my Amazon shop.
No! If you would rather not use skewers, you can grill the chicken and zucchini on a grill pan or in a grill basket on an outdoor grill.
More Chicken Skewer Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
- Grilled Lemon Dijon Chicken Skewers
- Mediterranean Chicken Kebab Salad
- Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
- Grilled Pesto Chicken and Tomato Kebabs
Chicken and Zucchini Yakitori
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons mirin sake
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, for GF use low sodium Tamari
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, all fat trimmed (Purdue Fit & Easy)
- 5 large green onions, cut 1-inch-long
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rings
- 18 10 inch bamboo skewers
Instructions
- Bring mirin, low sodium soy sauce, honey and crushed garlic to a boil in a medium-sized sauce pan, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces and place in a ziplock bag; pour half of the marinade over the chicken.
- Place the zucchini in a second large ziplock bag and pour the remaining marinade over the zucchini.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, soak the skewers in water 30 minutes so they don’t burn.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers, alternating with green onion so that each stick has 3 cubes of chicken and two pieced of green onion, discarding the chicken marinade.
- Thread the zucchini onto skewers, alternating with remaining green onion, reserving the marinade for basting.
- Preheat the grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat.
- When hot, spray with oil then reduced heat to medium; grill the zucchini and chicken skewers about 5 to 6 minutes on each side brushing both sides of the skewers with the yakitori sauce during the last few minutes of cooking time.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
most of it is tossed, I calculated it with 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp
mirin, but it would actually be less. Yakitori marinade recipe adapted from Food.com
