So popular are these chicken kebabs that in their home country of Japan they have whole take-out shops – or yakitoriya – dedicated to serving them. This version is flavoured with a classic soy-based tare sauce. It’s traditional to cook these over a charcoal grill, and a barbecue is certainly the best way flavour-wise, but a ridged griddle pan on the hob will also give you pretty tasty results.
For the tare sauce, add all the ingredients to a small saucepan set over a medium-low heat and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer steadily until reduced by half in volume, about 15–20 minutes. Divide between 2 small dishes and set aside to cool. One dish is used as a dipping sauce, the other to glaze the skewers as they cook – dividing them prevents contamination from the raw meat as you are brushing with the glaze.
Thread the chicken and spring onions on to the skewers and brush all over with a little vegetable oil. Fire up a barbecue until hot, or set a large ridged griddle pan over a high heat on the hob, then lay on the kebabs. Take one of the bowls of sauce and, using a brush, glaze the top of the kebabs. After a couple of minutes turn the kebabs over and brush with more sauce. Keep on turning and brushing the kebabs with sauce until cooked, around 10–12 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. Serve the kebabs immediately with the second dish of sauce for dipping into.
