Japanese Faves: Kushiyaki 1

chicken

🥗Healthier: tofu

💰Cheaper: pork

Tofu is a lower-calorie option, while pork is often less expensive than chicken.

mirin

🥗Healthier: rice vinegar

💰Cheaper: apple cider vinegar

Rice vinegar provides acidity with fewer calories, while apple cider vinegar is budget-friendly.

sake

🥗Healthier: white wine

💰Cheaper: cooking wine

White wine can substitute for sake in flavor, while cooking wine is often cheaper.

soy sauce

🥗Healthier: low-sodium soy sauce

💰Cheaper: tamari

Low-sodium soy sauce reduces sodium intake, while tamari is a gluten-free alternative.

Prepare shiitake mushrooms by cooking them in a hot pan until they are just soft and flexible.

Boil small potatoes in cold water until they are just pierceable with a toothpick.

Remove the skin from tiny onions by cutting off the end (not the root) and plunging them into boiling water for 30 seconds, then into an ice bath to peel off the skins.

Blanch asparagus in boiling water for one minute, then plunge into an ice bath to keep them green and flexible.

Skewer cherry tomatoes in groups of three, as odd numbers are preferred in Japan.

Skewer the boiled potatoes in groups of three.

Skewer the flexible shiitake mushrooms in groups of three.

Cut scallions to about an inch long, then skewer them using one piece from each cut to maintain variety in color.

Remove the root end from the blanched tiny onions and skewer them, using a mix of red, yellow, and white onions for presentation.

Blanch snow peas in boiling water for one minute, then plunge into an ice bath to make them flexible for skewering.

Thread snow peas onto skewers by inserting one end and then back through the other end, using two on a skewer if they are short.

Skewer shishito peppers one at a time.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens