Yakitori means grilled bird, and in Japan it is the food of smoky little bars under railway arches, summer festival stalls and the end of a long working day. Every part of the chicken has its own skewer, but negima, chicken thigh alternating with lengths of leek like scallion, is the one everyone orders. It comes either seasoned simply with salt or brushed with tare, a sauce of soy, mirin, sake and sugar reduced to a syrup. We give you the tare.

Skewers are the original trackside food: hold one end, eat the other, keep your eyes on the cars. The yakitori stands at a Japanese circuit perfume the whole spectator area. At home, a hot outdoor grill comes closest to the charcoal of a yakitori bar, but an oven broiler gives a very respectable result, and you do not have to stand in the rain.

The tare

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) mirin
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sake
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 scallion green top

The skewers

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 bunch thick scallions
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• shichimi togarashi

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