Yakitori, Japanese food

Bite size chicken pieces on a skewer are roasted above a charcoal flame and eaten with sauce or salt. This food is so popular as a side dish with drinks that people often say "beer with yakitori" to mean "go out for drinks". Most yakitori shops are down-to-earth shops centered around counter seating, but there are also high class restaurants available as well. Some meat shops grill and sell yakitori at the storefront to take home and eat with rice.

The chicken selections are not only meat, but also include almost all portions of the chicken like the organs and skin. Thigh meat or breast meat are the most orthodox choices. The tenderloin (sasami) portion near the breast is low in fat and healthy.

A "negima" is a type of yakitori with "negi" (Japanese chives) and meat staggered on the skewer. "Rebaa" yakitori is the liver portion, but compared to the liver of other animals, chicken livers are not as bitter and have a full bodied flavor. "Tsukune" yakitori is ground chicken meat which is rolled into balls or kneaded into thick stick like shapes to give a tender texture that is also easy for children to eat.

If you want to enjoy a firmer texture, try the "sunagimo" (a part of the stomach) or "nankotsu" (cartilage). Deep fried "tebasaki" (wingtips) are also popular. Tebasaki are fragrantly deep fried and flavored with salt, pepper, and sweet and zesty sauce. And if you want to try some kind of odd parts, some shops serve up things like "hatsu" (heart), "ponjiri" (hind end), "seseri" (neck) "tosaka" (chicken comb), and "kogan" (testicles). Each part requires its own different kind of fine tuning on the grill, so a master griller technique is very important.*