Yakitori Sauce

Name: Yakitori Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 0.5 cup water; 2 oz chicken skin; 0.5 cup soy sauce, double brewed; 0.25 cup sake; 0.25 cup mirin; 6 tbsp soy sauce; 6 tbsp mirin; 6 tbsp sake; 6 tbsp water; 4 tsp brown sugar

Chicken Fat Yakitori Sauce

Chicken skin renders its fat into water, creating the foundation for this authentic tare that develops deeper flavor than shortcuts. The slow reduction concentrates everything into a sauce that clings perfectly to grilled meat.

JapaneseAsianGrilling

Prep5 min

Cook25 min

Total30 min

Servings—

Difficultyeasy

Ingredients

Main Recipe

½ cupwater
2 ozchicken skin
½ cupsoy sauce, double brewed
¼ cupsake
¼ cupmirin

Alt Tare

6 tbspsoy sauce
6 tbspmirin
6 tbspsake
6 tbspwater
4 tspbrown sugar

Instructions

Heat water to a rolling boil in a non-reactive sauce pot. The pot material matters here — aluminum or reactive metals can affect the sauce's final flavor.
Drop in the chicken skin and let it cook for 10-15 minutes without skimming any foam that rises. That foam contains flavor compounds you want to keep.
⏱ 15 min
Fish out the chicken skin with tongs and discard it. The water should now have a rich, fatty quality from the rendered skin.
Stir in the soy sauce, sake, and mirin, then simmer until the mixture reduces by one third. You'll know it's ready when it coats a spoon lightly.
Pour the sauce through a cheesecloth-lined strainer to remove any particles. Cool completely before refrigerating — it will keep for weeks.
For the quicker alternative, combine all alt tare ingredients in a small sauce pot over medium-high heat. Whisk everything together until the brown sugar dissolves completely.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then dial back to medium heat. Let it bubble away for 10-15 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
⏱ 15 min