Recipe: Chicken & Leek yakitori

Ingredients (serves 4):

400 g chicken thigh meat, skinned

2 bunches young leeks

Salt and pepper

Basting Sauce:

1 cup chicken broth

1 brown onion, grated

2 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp honey

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Prepare basting sauce by placing all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook until reduced and syrupy, about 30 minutes.

2. Cut up chicken thigh meat into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

3. Trim the leeks and halve them if they are too thick. Cut trimmed leeks into 2 cm sections.

4. Using soaked bamboo skewers, thread chicken pieces, alternating with leek sections.

5. Grill on the hibachi, basting often with the sauce.

Food notes:

This is classic pub food in Japan, where the salary men relax after work and munch on yakitori between sips of beer. The secret to a good yakitori is the sauce. Grated onion, cooked and reduced, is a natural sweetener. Adding maple syrup or honey will complement that sweetness.

Remember to remove all tendons in the chicken thigh, and cut the meat into cubes that can cook easily. If you don't like leeks, you can substitute with spring onions, or asparagus. Just choose a vegetable that will cook in the time it takes the chicken pieces to get crisp and tasty. Baste lightly as too much sauce on the meat will cause it to burn.