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We made a post recently sharing our recipe for Low Carb Yakisoba. If you didn’t happen to catch it, we talked about how Yakisoba is a main Japanese summer festival/carnival food served across Japan, and with summer rolling in, we thought it would be a good time to build on this and share another 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 will be sharing the recipe for what would be considered the ‘classic yakitori’ – negima. This is just skewered chicken thighs with alternating green onions brushed with a semi sweet soy marinade. 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 are in the mood to experience a low-carb/keto Japanese festival food, definitely fire up the grill and give this simple recipe a go!
This dish is keto friendly at ~1g carbs per skewer and if you are looking to make this your main meal, I would say 3-4 skewers would fill a person up. I would describe this dish as a tender juicy chicken infused with semi sweet soy sauce and the flavors of charred BBQ.
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/Serv ~3g
Serving 3-4 skewers
Ingredients
Yakitori
- 1/2 lb Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh (about 2-3 pieces)
- 4 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 4 cups of water and 1 tbsp of salt. Add chicken and brine for 1 hour.
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 our Keto Japanese Chicken Skewers – Yakitori! If you are looking for other recipes for your main dish, be sure to check out our growing Recipe Index full of Asian Inspired low-carb/keto recipes!
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Keto Japanese Chicken Skewers - Yakitori
Ingredients
Yakitori
- 1/2 lb Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh (about 2-3 pieces)
- 4 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 4 cups of water and 1 tbsp of salt. Add chicken and brine for 1 hour.
- 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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