Negima Food

YAKITORI NEGIMA (JAPANESE GRILLED CHICKEN AND SCALLION SKEWERS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Soak the bamboo skewers in a shallow dish of cold water for up to an hour, or overnight. This will prevent the skewers from burning when the yakitori is grilling. Alternatively, use metal skewers.
• Evenly divide pieces of chicken and scallions between the skewers. Set aside.
• Make the teriyaki style yakitori sauce (tare). Add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and ginger to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Prepare a medium (350°F to 375°F) gas, charcoal, or hibachi grill fire. Use half the yakitori sauce for basting, and reserve half for serving. Brush the skewered chicken and scallions generously with yakitori sauce and grill until the chicken is opaque and cooked through, turning and basting once or twice, 7 to 8 minutes total.
• Serve with the remaining yakitori sauce on the side.

YAKITORI

Steps:

• Submerge wooden skewers in a large cup or shallow pan of water to soak for at least 30 minutes.
• Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and the green part of 2 green onions in a medium saucepan on the stovetop over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until reduced by about half and slightly thickened. It should continue to thicken as it cools. The sauce can be refrigerated for 2-3 months.
• Slice the chicken into 1 1/2-inch pieces, trimming away excess fat if necessary. Slice green onions into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• Alternately thread pieces of chicken with pieces of green onion onto skewers that have been soaked in water for 30-60 minutes. You will likely need to fold the chicken a bit if using chicken thigh. Don't be afraid to load the skewers up pretty generously. Each skewer should hold 4 pieces of chicken and 3 green onion pieces. Season with kosher salt.
• Prepare a charcoal grill for medium-high heat or preheat the broiler. Set aside 1/3 of the yakitori sauce to avoid contamination. Grill over direct heat or broil for 4-5 minutes, then flip and brush each skewer with some of the yakitori sauce. Cook another 4-5 minutes on the other side, then flip and brush with sauce again, cooking another 1-2 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is caramelized.
• Transfer the finished skewers to a plate and brush with some of the reserved sauce before serving. You could also garnish by sprinkling the skewers with sesame seeds or thinly sliced green onions before serving.

HOMEMADE NEGIMA

Steps:

• Preheat a grill or broiler till blazing hot.
• Place the meat between two layers of waxed paper or plastic wrap, and pound it gently so that it is about 1/8 inch thick. Unwrap, and brush one side of each piece of meat with a little soy, fish or teriyaki sauce.
• Cut scallions into lengths about the same width as the meat, and place a small bundle of them at one of the narrow ends of each slice. Roll the long way, securing the roll with a toothpick or two. Brush the exterior of the roll with a little more sauce.
• Grill until brown on all sides, a total of about 6 minutes for chicken, 4 to 5 minutes for pork or veal, 4 minutes or less for beef.

NEGIMA

Steps:

• Preheat a grill or broiler until quite hot.
• Put the meat between two layers of wax paper or plastic wrap and pound it gently until about 1/8 inch thick. Brush one side of each piece of meat with a little soy sauce.
• Cut the scallions into lengths about the same width as the meat and put a small bundle of them at one of the narrow ends of each slice. Roll the long way, securing the roll with a toothpick or two. (You can prepare the rolls in advance up to this point; cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours before proceeding.) Brush the exterior of the roll with a little more soy sauce.
• Grill until brown on all sides, a total of about 6 minutes for chicken, 4 to 5 minutes for veal or pork, 4 minutes or less for beef.
• Chives also work well as a filling, as do small amounts of lightly cooked chopped spinach or chard; cooked chopped shiitake (or other) mushrooms; julienned and lightly cooked carrots or parboiled asparagus spears.

NEGIMA (GRILLED CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH GREEN ONION)

Steps:

• Soak 12 bamboo skewers in water for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the tare. In a broiler or on a grill, cook the chicken wings until they are charred over about half their surfaces. In a medium pot, bring the sake and mirin to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the sugar, and cook until the sugar is dissolved, stirring. Add the shoyu and chicken wings, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened and glossy. Strain the sauce through a strainer lined with cotton cloth-chicken wings can be eaten as a cook's treat or saved for another purpose. Let the sauce cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for as long as a month. Reheat the tare before using it, and once every week between uses.
• Cut the chicken thigh and breast into small pieces, about 1 by 1¼ inches. Cut the white part of each green onion into 1¼-inch lengths. Thread two pieces of chicken thigh or breasts and three pieces of long onion or leek alternately on each skewer. When using chicken with skin, folding the edges of the skin, and tuck them between the chicken meat and the long onion or leek to prevent the skin from burning.
• Heat a grill or broiler until hot. Cook the skewered chicken and green onion for 4 minutes, turning the skewers several times. Remove the chicken from the heat, and, with a pastry brush, baste it with tare.
• Return the chicken to the heat, and cook for 2 minutes, turning the skewers several times. Remove the chicken from the heat, and baste again.
• Return the chicken to the heat, and cook it for 2 minutes, turning it. Remove the chicken from the heat, baste it once more, and serve it hot.

BEEF NEGIMAKI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch lighter scallion ends for 1 minute, then add darker green scallion ends and blanch for 1 minute longer. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool, then drain and transfer scallions to a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess water.
• In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, stirring to dissolve most of the sugar.
• Working on a cutting board, cut flank steak against the grain into 4 equal strips, then cut each strip in half for 8 equal square pieces of meat. Keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board, butterfly each square by horizontally slicing against the grain through the middle. (Leave it attached on one side; do not cut all the way through.) Carefully open it like a book. Each of the 8 pieces should be about 3 inches wide.
• Using a meat mallet and working with one piece of meat at a time, cover each with plastic wrap and pound until 1/16-inch thick, creating rectangles that are about 5-by-6 inches. Transfer meat to the soy sauce marinade, turn to coat and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Heat grill to medium-high and grease the grates (Alternatively, grease a grill pan or griddle to use on the stovetop). Remove steak from marinade and transfer to a work surface. Transfer marinade to a small saucepan over medium-low and simmer until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, divide scallions among the 8 pieces of steak, arranging on one side along the shorter edge (scallions should be parallel to the grain). Tightly roll meat around the scallions and secure in two places with toothpicks where meat overlaps, threading the toothpicks parallel to the roll but not through the scallions in the center.
• Grill the negimaki, turning occasionally, until nicely charred and cooked through, reducing heat to medium halfway through, about 12 minutes. (If using a grill pan, heat on stovetop over medium-high and reduce heat to medium halfway through.)
• Once negimaki are cooked, lightly brush them with some of the reduced glaze, then transfer to a cutting board. Remove toothpicks, cut negimaki into bite-size pieces and arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle with the remaining glaze, and serve warm.