Can anyone recommend a good Yakitori sauce?

[adriankeith]

I'm looking to make some Yakitori here soon and I've browsed the web briefly looking for a basting sauce for Yakitori but I'm wondering if there are any of you who have a good recipe you'd like to share. If possible I'd like to avoid using something bottled but if there's something good in a bottle, please share!

I live in the greater Los Angeles area so I can get to most of the popular asian markets (99 ranch, Seafood Palace, etc).

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Selkie]

Yakitori is a way of cooking chicken on a bamboo skewer over charcoal. While there's no particular sauce associated with it, yakitori is often served with a sweetened and thickened soy sauce with mirin. It's found both as a side sauce, or brushed on before being grilled.

Hoisin sauce (Oriental BBQ sauce) is also popular and easily found in most supermarkets. I thin mine slightly in order to get a nice glaze rather than a thick buildup. The flavor of Hoisin can be a little strong for some people.

 

[Kathleen]

Sauce for Chicken Yakatori

My best friend in high school's mother was Japanese. This is the sauce that she would make for her yakitori sauce. (All amounts are estimated!)

2/3 cup of dark soy sauce
1/4 cup of sugar (though I remember she used honey once)
1/2 to 2/3 cup of mirin
1/3 cup of Sake
1 clove of garlic, slivered
1/4 inch of fresh ginger, grated
1 T. water
1 T. cornstarch

Put all but cornstarch and water in a small saucepan and cook until it bubbles for a minute or two. Mix the water and cornstarch, then add it. Stir constantly until thickened and clear. Strain the mixture.

Refrigerate if not using. It will keep at room temperature for an evening, easily.

~Kathleen

 

[mollyanne]

kathleen...your recipe sounds perfect but I might add some dashi (fish stock). It's optional but I remember that fish stock (or clam juice) would give it a distinctive Japanese flavor. I lived in Japan for 3 years.

 

[Kathleen]

kathleen...your recipe sounds perfect but I might add some dashi (fish stock). It's optional but I remember that fish stock (or clam juice) would give it a distinctive Japanese flavor. I lived in Japan for 3 years.

I think I'd love to try it with dashi. Wayyyy back when, she may have found such things hard to obtain. The first time I used dashi was many years later in the filler for some spring rolls. Wow, what a difference!

 

[adriankeith]

Hi KathleenA,

Thanks for sharing! Definitely going to try that out.

I don't want to start another thread and I'm hoping you can help me with some other things I'd like to try making, namely tebasaki and chicken karaage. These are probably my two favorite dishes I like ordering when I eat at this local Japanese place (ok, maybe in addition to this awesome mushroom dish that looks pretty simple -- enoki mushrooms, scallops and butter)

Tebasaki is just chicken wings but their marinade/seasoning combination gives it a nice crispy texture as well as that unique semi-sweet and salty taste. It's really delicious.

The chicken karaage I think is just deep fried but the sauce usually served with it is what makes it so good. It's of a mayonnaise type consistency (forgive me if I'm wrong) but I'm not 100% positive.

Thanks for all the help and that recipe KathleenA!

 

[powerplantop]

This is how I do mine.

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup mirin
1/3 cup sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic
ginger juice

Cook down to less than half.
If after cooking down its not thick enough I will add some corn starch, but I prefer not to.
Keep an eye on the sauce or it will boil over.

 

[Kathleen]

Drat...

Tebasaki is just chicken wings but their marinade/seasoning combination gives it a nice crispy texture as well as that unique semi-sweet and salty taste. It's really delicious.

The chicken karaage I think is just deep fried but the sauce usually served with it is what makes it so good. It's of a mayonnaise type consistency (forgive me if I'm wrong) but I'm not 100% positive.

I don't have a recipe for either of those dishes, AdrianKeith. I remember that she made chicken wings two ways. One was on the grill with a sauce that had sesame seeds in it. The other was fried. I do remember that she would slice into the flesh of the chicken with both to marinade the wings before cooking. And I recall that she would dust the wings with corn starch when she fried them. Maybe with those two memories and the names of the dishes, you could find a good recipe in Google if no one else finds something better.

I'm sorry I could not help more with that.
~Kathleen

 

[adriankeith]

I don't have a recipe for either of those dishes, AdrianKeith. I remember that she made chicken wings two ways. One was on the grill with a sauce that had sesame seeds in it. The other was fried. I do remember that she would slice into the flesh of the chicken with both to marinade the wings before cooking. And I recall that she would dust the wings with corn starch when she fried them. Maybe with those two memories and the names of the dishes, you could find a good recipe in Google if no one else finds something better.

I'm sorry I could not help more with that.
~Kathleen

No problem! That sauce you mention with sesame seeds in it sounds really close to what they use. I'll have to do some searching. Thanks so much again to everyone for all the help and suggestions on the yakitori!