The Briny Lemon: Chicken Yakitori with Shiitakes and Scallions

I love the Japanese skewer-grilling method of using bricks. No, not to flatten a chicken—to elevate the food! Resting skewers of meat and vegetables on two bricks placed 9 to 10 inches apart allows them to grill at just the right height to get great char flavor without burning or sticking to the grate. It’s especially good when the meat has been marinating in a rich, salty, sweet, and sour mixture, common in yakitori and teriyaki.

The marinades and sauces in both these dishes include mirin, a sweet rice wine with a slightly nutty flavor, similar to sherry. If you don’t have mirin (I didn’t), use dry sherry and increase the amount of sugar already included. For this recipe, I used 1/3 cup of sherry and 1/4 cup of white sugar. If you do have mirin, omit the sherry and decrease the amount of sugar to 2 tablespoons.

Tip: You’ll need at least 12-inch skewers in order to have enough room for the food in the middle and space on each end to rest the skewers on the bricks. I recommend metal or very sturdy wood skewers (soaked in water 30 minutes) so that they don’t bend toward the fire with the weight of the food in the middle.

My metal skewers have a looped handle on one end, for a total length of about 13-1/2 inches. That gave me about 10 inches of space for the meat and vegetables. To know how much room you’ll have for the food, wrap the bricks in foil and place them on a counter several inches apart. Lay your skewers across them and adjust the spacing so that at least an inch (1-1/2 inches, even better) is resting on each end.

Take a "test" measure

Also check out Chicken Teriyaki with Rice Noodles.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sake
1/3 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup white sugar
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
20 medium shiitake mushrooms, long stems trimmed
8 scallions, white and light green parts only, each cut into 3 pieces (chop some of the dark green parts and stir into the cooked rice)
peanut oil, for drizzling
sesame seeds, for garnish
cooked short-grain white rice, for serving

Chicken Pieces

Scallions and Shiitake Mushrooms

Sliced Scallions

Preparation

Combine the soy sauce, water, sake, sherry, and sugar in a large bowl, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Transfer 1 cup of the mixture to a saucepan.
Add the chicken to the mixture remaining in the bowl, pressing to submerge. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Heat the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook until reduced by about half, 20 minutes. Set the sauce aside and re-warm gently before using.

Soy Sauce Mixture

Marinating Chicken

Sauce Beginning to Cook

Reduced Sauce

Place the mushrooms and scallions in a bowl and drizzle with peanut oil, tossing to coat.
Light a grill for medium-high heat. Wrap 2 bricks tightly in aluminum foil. When the fire is ready, place the bricks on the grill grate, 9-10 inches apart (depending on the length of your skewers), with direct heat in between.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting excess drip off. Thread the chicken pieces, mushrooms, and scallions, alternating evenly, onto 4 long skewers (soaked in water 30 minutes, if wood), leaving at least 1 inch free on each end.
Lay the skewers on the grill with the ends resting on the bricks and the meat and vegetables over the fire.
Grill, turning several times, until lightly charred and the chicken is cooked through, 15-18 minutes total, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. About 3 minutes before they’re ready, brush the skewers with some of the re-warmed sauce.