Salted nankotsu yakitori

Ingredients

• 480 g chicken breastbone cartilage (yagen nankotsu)
• 2 tbsp unsalted Japanese cooking sake
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp refined canola oil
• 1 piece fresh lemon
• 1 tsp shichimi togarashi Japanese seven-spice blend

Method

1. Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for 30 minutes to keep them from burning during cooking.
2. Thoroughly pat the chicken breastbone cartilage dry with paper towels to remove all surface moisture.
3. Thread the cartilage pieces tightly onto the bamboo skewers, packing them closely together to ensure even cooking.
4. Brush the skewers on all sides with the unsalted Japanese cooking sake to moisten the meat.
5. Sprinkle the fine sea salt evenly over all sides of the skewers.
6. Heat a grill or cast-iron grill pan over very high heat to reach about 230 °C, then lightly grease the surface with refined canola oil using a brush.
7. Place the skewers on the smoking-hot surface and sear undisturbed for 4 minutes, until the edges are nicely browned and sizzling vigorously.
8. Turn the skewers over and continue cooking the second side for 4 to 5 minutes, until the cartilage becomes slightly translucent, the meat bits turn crispy, and the internal temperature reaches 74 °C.
9. Let the skewers rest for 2 minutes on a wire rack or warm platter before serving, accompanied by fresh lemon wedges and shichimi togarashi Japanese seven-spice blend.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

163.4 kcal

Protein

28.45 g

Carbohydrate

3.7 g

Fat

3.21 g

Fibre

1.15 g

Calcium

3.33 mg

Iron

0.05 mg

Magnesium

2.38 mg