How to Cook Kawa no Yakitori (Chicken Skin Yakitori)

I love muscle training, so I eat chicken breast every day. Chicken breast is inexpensive and contains high-quality protein, but its skin contains a lot of fat, so I always remove the skin. But I think it would be a waste to throw it away (“mottainai!“), so I keep them frozen. Once you’ve saved up a certain amount, make some kawa no yakitori (皮の焼き鳥)and have a fun time drinking alcohol for a cheat day!

Today, I’ll share with you how to make kawa no yakitori.

Ingredients:

• Chicken skin – I use frozen chicken skins; fresh chicken skins can also be used.
• Boiling water – To unfreeze chicken skins and remove the fat from the chicken skins.
• Salt and pepper – Most popular choice; other seasonings are also good, like “Krazy Mixed Up Salt”.
• Skewers – In Japan, using bamboo skewers is the orthodox way, but if you can prepare metal skewers, I recommend metal rather than bamboo because bamboo skewers burn when you cook them.
• Grill and charcoal – To remove excess fat while roasting; a grill and charcoal are essential.

Steps to Cook kawa no yakitori:

1.Boil the chicken skin

Boil the chicken skin well to remove excess oil. Use a ladle to discard the oil while boiling.

2.Discard the boiling water and drain the chicken skin

Discard the boiling water and drain the chicken skin in a colander to cool. Be careful not to touch it with your bare hands while it’s still hot!

3.Cut it into easy-to-eat widths

If the chicken skin cools down, cut it into easy-to-eat widths.

4.Thread chicken skin onto skewers

Thread chicken skin onto skewers. If using bamboo skewers, be careful not to let them protrude through the gaps in the chicken skin. Otherwise, they will burn when grilling

5.Season and grill them

Season the chicken skin skewers with salt and pepper and grill.

I recommend seasoning with salt and pepper rather than using tare sauce. Tare sauce can be made with soy sauce and mirin (みりん or 味醂) . It’s also tasty but becomes sticky in texture. If you enjoy a crunchier texture, choose salt and pepper.

6.Voila!

Since they are already boiled, you can eat them without grilling too much, but you’ll enjoy the crunchier texture if you grill them thoroughly.

Delicious Way to Eat:

Kawa no yakitori is a side dish enjoyed with alcoholic drinks at an izakaya restaurant (居酒屋) . These kinds of cuisines are called “sake no ate (酒のあて)” or “sake no sakana (酒の肴) ” in Japan. I recommend enjoying it with beer, sake (酒) , or shochu (焼酎) .

The salty taste complements alcoholic drinks well.

田舎のたかぼん

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30歳のころから夢見た田舎暮らし。実現には程遠い年月を過ごしてきましたが、20年を経て、またフツフツとその思いが蘇ってきました。 定年を迎える60歳までに田舎暮らしを形にすべく、あれやこれやと寄り道の道中記です。