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Chicken Yakitori

Marinated chicken strips in garlic, ginger, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin or brown sugar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Chicken Yakitori

Time7 to 10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate

  1. Combine all ingredients except mirin or sugar and chicken in a large bowl.

  2. Add mirin or brown sugar until desired sweetness is achieved.

  3. Add chicken and mix thoroughly with your hands.

  4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours.

Grill and serve

  1. Remove chicken from the marinade.

  2. Skewer the chicken and grill over medium-high charcoal for 7 to 10 minutes.

  3. Brush the chicken with sauce once during cooking.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

463Calories
36 gProtein
4 gFat
61 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  4. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. White wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provide the protein that is cooked through over the grill.
Soy sauce
Adds salty depth and helps color the chicken as it cooks.
White wine vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the marinade and tenderizes the surface of the chicken.
Ginger
Adds a sharp, aromatic flavor to the marinade.
Mirin or brown sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown on the grill.

The step that matters

Brush the chicken with sauce once during cooking. Sugars in mirin or brown sugar can scorch over charcoal heat, so brushing once, partway through grilling, helps the glaze caramelize without burning. Cooks should watch for flare-ups.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, ginger, white wine, vinegar, sauce, rice wine, chicken):

  1. Corianderfits better
  2. Basilfits about as well
  3. Clovethe original
  4. Turmericfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, ginger, white wine, vinegar, sauce, rice wine, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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