If you happened to read our Low Carb Yakisoba recipe, you might remember how we mentioned Yakisoba is a Japanese summer festival/carnival food served across Japan! And with summer rolling in, we thought it’d be a good time to build on that and share another summer festival dish in Yakitori!
Now Yakitori, which translate to ‘BBQ chicken’ BTW, comes in many different variations/combination. They range from chicken skin, to chicken cartilage to quail eggs and back. But today, we’ll be sharing the recipe for what’s considered the ‘classic yakitori’ in this Japanese Chicken Skewers – Yakitori Negima recipe!
Yakitori Negima is skewered chicken thighs with alternating green onions brushed with a semi sweet soy marinade. And although that sounds innocent, the traditional marinate is loaded with sugar, so not exactly low-carb/keto friendly!
But fret not – we here at LCA made a low-carb/keto version for all you folks! So the next time you’re in the mood to experience a Japanese festival food, definitely fire up the grill and give this simple recipe a go!
This dish is low-carb/keto friendly at ~1g carbs per skewer and if you’re looking to make this your main meal, I would say 3-4 skewers would fill a person up.
The special ingredients needed for this recipe are Swerve/Monkfruit, Bonito Flakes, Soy Sauce, Toasted Sesame Seed (optional) and Japanese Sake. All these can be picked up on Amazon (aside from Japanese sake) or a local Asian Supermarket.
Now, let’s get cooking!
Brine time 1H (optional)
Prepping Time 10M
Cooking Time 15M
Total Time 1H25M
Net Carb/Skewer ~1g
Serving 3-4 Skewers
Ingredients
Yakitori
- 1/2 lb Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh (about 2-3 pieces)
- 2 Cups Water (optional brine)
- 1 tbsp Salt (optional brine)
- 3 Stalk Green Onions
- 3-4 Wooden Skewers
- 1/8 tsp Toasted Sesame Seed (optional)
Marinade
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 3 tbsp Japanese Sake
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 1/2 tbsp Swerve/Monkfruit
- 1/2 Cup Bonito Flakes
- 1 Garlic Clove
Directions
1) Gather all the ingredients.
2) Optional Brine – In a mixing bowl, add 2 cups of water and 1 tbsp of salt. Add chicken and brine for 1 hour. Note – be careful not to over brine, otherwise it will come out too salty.
3) Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 10 minutes.
4) Finely dice garlic and set aside.
5) In a stove top pot, add all the ingredients for the marinate – Soy Sauce, Japanese Sake, Water, Swerve/Monkfruit, Bonito Flakes, and Diced Garlic – and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer heat and let sauce reduce for 7-10 minutes or until slightly reduced. Once reduced, strain sauce with strainer and make sure to squeeze/press any excess sauce from the bonito flakes. Set aside. Note – if you are making more sauce, it will take longer to reduce. Note 2 – if you like stronger flavors, transfer some of the sauce into a reserve bowl and drizzle sauce before serving. Do not drizzle sauce you used for basting as it would be contaminated.
6) In the meantime, cut green onions into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
7) Cut chicken into 1/2 x 1/2 cube size bites and set aside.
8) Skewer chicken loosely (do not pack in tight). Use 3 pieces of chicken for every piece of green onion as picture shown.
9) Preheat grill to 350F. Once grill is preheated, reduce heat to medium-low and place skewers on the grill. Using a basting brush, generously brush marinade on each skewer and close lid. Rotate skewers every 2 minutes basting on each rotation and until done – should take around 8-10 minutes or once internal temp reaches 165F. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle optional Toasted Sesame Seed.
10) Optional Oven Instructions – if you don’t own a BBQ grill or located in an area where grilling is not possible, here are alternative oven instructions. Preheat oven to 500F. Place skewers on a baking rack in center of oven and generous brush marinade on each skewer. Rotate every 2 minutes basting on each rotation and continue until done – should take around 8-10 minutes or once internal temp reaches 165F. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle optional Toasted Sesame Seed.
Hope you enjoy your low-carb/keto Japanese Chicken Skewers – Yakitori!
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Japanese Chicken Skewers - Yakitori Negima
Ingredients
Yakitori
- 1/2 lb Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh (about 2-3 pieces)
- 2 Cups Water (optional brine)
- 1 tbsp Salt (optional brine)
- 3 Stalk Green Onions
- 3-4 Pieces Wooden Skewers
- 1/8 tsp Toasted Sesame Seed (optional)
Marinade
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 3 tbsp Japanese Sake
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 1/2 tbsp Swerve/Monkfruit
- 1/2 Cup Bonito Flakes
- 1 Clove Garlic
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Optional Brine - In a mixing bowl, add 2 cups of water and 1 tbsp of salt. Add chicken and brine for 1 hour. Note - be careful not to over brine, otherwise it will come out too salty.
- Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 10 minutes.
- Finely dice garlic and set aside.
- In a stove top pot, add all the ingredients for the marinate - Soy Sauce, Japanese Sake, Water, Swerve/Monkfruit, Bonito Flakes, and Diced Garlic - and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer heat and let sauce reduce for 7-10 minutes or until slightly reduced. Once reduced, strain sauce with strainer and make sure to squeeze/press any excess sauce from the bonito flakes. Set aside. Note - if you are making more sauce, it will take longer to reduce. Note 2 - if you like stronger flavors, transfer some of the sauce into a reserve bowl and drizzle sauce before serving. Do not drizzle sauce you used for basting as it would be contaminated.
- In the meantime, cut green onions into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
- Cut into 1/2 x 1/2 cube size bites and set aside.
- Skewer chicken loosely (do not pack in tight). Use 3 pieces of chicken for every piece of green onion as picture shown.
- Preheat grill to 350F. Once grill is preheated, reduce heat to medium-low and place skewers on the grill. Using a basting brush, generously brush marinade on each skewer and close lid. Rotate skewers every 2 minutes basting on each rotation and until done - should take around 8-10 minutes or once internal temp reaches 165F. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle optional Toasted Sesame Seed.
- Optional Oven Instructions - if you don't own a BBQ grill or located in an area where grilling is not possible, here are alternative oven instructions. Preheat oven to 500F. Place skewers on a baking rack in center of oven and generous brush marinade on each skewer. Rotate every 2 minutes basting on each rotation and continue until done - should take around 8-10 minutes or once internal temp reaches 165F. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle optional Toasted Sesame Seed.
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