Tsukune つくね
Soft and juicy minced chicken, coated in sweet sauce. It sometimes comes with egg yolk to dip in.
A quintessential Japanese soul food, yakitori, or grilled chicken skewers, is a culinary exploration of the entire bird from neck to tail. It is cheap and cheerful, and a staple in Japan’s food culture.
To the uninitiated, it is simply skewered chicken grilled over charcoal fire and slathered with tare (sweet soy sauce and mirin mix), enjoyed for its distinct smoky char and with cold beer. In other words, a social eating experience in a boisterous izakaya.
Sure, that’s one way to enjoy it. However in recent years, yakitori has been slowly shedding its ‘beer fodder’ image, with a growing number of restaurants serving a refined interpretation. Wine and sake pairings are becoming common, and at the same time, chefs are exploring unusual cuts.
Yakitori is serious business. For starters, dedicated restaurants are using premium ‘jidori’ (think the poultry equivalent of Kobe beef) in their menu, especially to harvest the off-cuts. Then, different parts of the chicken are cooked to varying levels to achieve their best texture and flavour. While most are seasoned with tare, some only receive a sprinkling of salt or a touch of freshly grated wasabi.
White meat, meatballs and wings are common, but newcomers are often confused by the diverse choices. There’s the skin, soft bone, gizzard, heart and liver; then it swerves far left into ‘fear factor’ territory – think little nubs of fat from the bishop’s nose, aka the bottom (fatty and crispy when cooked well), and the uterus with attached yolk (creamy and crunchy). Whether you decide to explore yakitori at an izakaya or a Michelin-endorsed restaurant, our photo menu on the right will help you navigate the selections on offer.
