Ginger pork skewers

Yakitori (grilled chicken) is the most well-known of Japanese grilled skewers, but yaki-ton (grilled pork) is just as beloved. In this recipe, the pork is grilled first, then glazed with a flavourful Japanese sauce.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 500 g pork belly, skin off
• soaked bamboo skewers
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives, to serve
• ½ tsp shichimi togarashi, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat a barbecue or chargrill pan to high.
2. Cut the pork belly into 1 cm thick strips, then cut each strip into 5 cm pieces. Thread 3 pieces of pork onto a soaked bamboo skewer and repeat with the remaining pork. Brush the skewers with vegetable oil and grill on a grill pan or barbecue for about 5 minutes until cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan. Simmer until reduced to a thick glaze. Pour the glaze over the skewers, then scatter with chives and shichimi togarashi and serve.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.