yakitori.co.jp

Part3
Tips for Various Grilling Dishes

Teriyaki

When cooking Yakitori or Teriyaki fish with baste, it is best to start cooking without putting any baste or sauce on. Apply heat until the food is hot, without burning it. Then once the food is cooked, dip the food in the baste or sauce, as opposed to applying it directly to the food.Repeat the sauce application process 3-4 times, but make sure the sauce does not drip onto the flame. Also, try not to burn the sauce as it creates an unpleasant smell.

Steak

Steak can be cooked really well, even if it is cheap. The trick is to cut thick slices so that when you cook it, the surface shrinks, but the inside stays tender. Heat transfers through the meat slowly; hence the inside will be soft and will keep its flavour.Also, sprinkling some salt and pepper on the steak just prior to cooking is another good tip, as salt prevents the flavour of the meat from escaping. However, leaving the salt on the meat for too long makes it harder as the salt is absorbed into the meat. Placing steak on some mesh and cooking it about 20 cm above the flame is ideal. If steak is cooked too close to the fire, it loses its moisture and the surface becomes crispy and hard.

Cooking Skewered Meat

It is important not to burn the surface of the meat and to cook it as quickly as possible without losing its flavour. The bigger the meat, the harder it is for the heat to be transferred right through. Cooking using thick iron skewers are better for bigger meat. Skewers hold the meat and let the heat pass through. Cooking skewers on a flat, thick and clean surface such as on an iron plate (Teppanyaki style) is another good method.

Skewers for Fish

Skewers are also used for grilling fish; they are used to keep the shape of the fish. Both metal skewers and bamboo skewers can be used.Once fish has been cooked, it is very soft and breaks easily, as the moisture and fat content inside has evaporated. Wait for the fish to cool down before trying to take the skewer off, however be sure to rotate the skewer while the fish is still hot, as the protein from the fish sticks to the skewers when it gets cold.

Skewers for Grilled Chicken

For grilled chicken, bamboo or wooden skewers are used far more compared to metal ones. This is because they are used to keep the shape of the chicken, not to let the heat transfer through to the inside.Also, bamboo and wooden skewers are more convenient for cooking - it is hard to cook chicken on a direct flame without skewers. Also, chicken can be cooked on its own on a skewer, without been mixed with other ingredients.Of course, grilled chicken on a skewer can be eaten without using any knifes, forks, or chopsticks. You can just pick it up with your fingers, which makes it much easier and fun to eat.