Chicken and spring onion yakitori with yuzu mayonnaise

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 1 - 24 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
750g chicken thighs, skin on
8 large spring onions
Shichimi togarashi to taste

Ingredients for the glaze
3 tbsps soy sauce
1 tsps toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp yuzu kosho
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey

Ingredients for the mayonnaise
4 tbsps of mayonnaise
2 tsp yuzu juice

Equipment needed
4 skewers, soaked for at least an hour.
Pastry brush

Method
If you are using wooden skewers, soak them for an hour.

Mix the glaze ingredients together.

Cut the chicken thighs into large pieces.  Put the chicken into the glaze for an hour.

After half an hour, light your coals if you are cooking outside.

When you are ready to cook, either make sure your coals are white hot or preheat your grill on medium for at least half an hour.

Thread the chicken and the spring onions onto skewers, starting with the spring onion and alternating the chicken and spring onion and finishing on spring onion.  Bring the glaze to the boil in a small saucepan.

Put your skewers either away from direct heat on your braai or bbq or under the grill at least 10cm away.  Turn every 2 minutes, glazing every time you turn.  These will cook for around 15 minutes.

When you remove the skewers from the heat, glaze one last time.

While the chicken rests, make the mayonnaise by mixing the yuzu and the mayonnaise together.  Test there is enough yuzu juice for you and if not, add another tsp or two until you are happy.


Variation
Replace the chicken with pork. 

Cut the pork belly into 2-3cm chunks and put into a bowl with the glaze ingredients.  Leave for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

Meanwhile quickly bring the marinade to the boil and as you turn the skewers as they cook, reglaze, don’t be shy, you want them sticky and caramelised but do take care and turn every few minutes to stop them burning. This should take around 15-20 minutes, you do want the pork fat to start rendering down.  When you remove the skewers from the heat, glaze one last time.

Follow the rest of the recipe as stated above.