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Are you ready for me to share one of my favorite recipes? It is SO good! Chicken yakitori!
What's In This Article
Lemon Garlic Yakitori Wings are marinated in a zesty lemon garlic marinade and grilled to perfection. Serve your grilled wings with classic BBQ side dishes.
Yakitori sauce is one of my favorite marinades, simple and tasty, what is not to love! My mother makes a classic version of yakitori chicken, minus the yakitori grill, which we have adapted into our own family.
Perfect for gatherings, summer grilling and holidays, it has now become a 4th of July tradition too! Kikkoman® is our go-to soy sauce each and every time!
If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I took a life changing trip to Japan last January. I loved learning about culture and traditional Japanese food.
One of the main points learned was that not all soy sauces are created equal and the process to make a great soy sauce is actually pretty labor intensive.
Upon our return, I vowed to only use traditionally brewed soy sauces with quality flavor that brings out the umami taste and rounds flavors. Soy Sauce is for much more than just sushi, foodie friends! Kikkoman® Soy Sauces had always been out go-to and would continue to be!
Traditionally brewed soy sauce
The process is broken down into 3 steps: Koji-making, brine fermentation and refining.
Koji is the culture made from carefully selected soybeans and wheat, which is introduced to specialty cultures and allowed to mature and develop flavor. It it then further fermenting, filtered and pasteurized before making its way to your kitchen.
Kikkoman® Sauces aren’t just about soy sauce, although soy sauce is such a versatile condiment, every kitchen should have some! They also make one of my favorite Kikkoman® Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce and also wasabi, thai chili, hoisin and much more!
Use Kikkoman® Soy Sauce to kick off great marinades, liven up soups and salad dressing, but also as a stand alone condiment. It is the base ingredient for my Yakitori Chicken Wings.
Traditional yakitori has sake and mirin, but for ease, we omit those and use other flavors like lemon, garlic and rice wine vinegar.
What is a yakitori grill? A small BBQ that uses charcoal as its fuel and traditionally used for cooking skewered yakitori chicken.
If you do not have rice wine vinegar, you can also use plain distilled vinegar.While the traditional version does include garlic, I really amp it up and add lemon zest to make my Lemon Garlic Yakitori Wings really stand out.
Lemon Garlic Yakitori Wings are perfect for entertaining large crowds because you can do most of the preparation ahead of time. They are parboiled and then marinated in the zesty sauce for 24-48 hours, allowing the flavors to really sink in deep.
Knowing that your chicken is fully cooked, you only have to finish them off on the grill to get the smoky, sticky flavors to really stand out.
Classic BBQ side dishes
- Pineapple Coleslaw
- Miracle Whip Potato Skewers
- Grilled Watermelon Steaks
- Bacon Potato Salad
- Slow Cooker Baked Beans
- Cooked Carrots
Lemon Garlic Yakitori Wings
Ingredients
- 16 whole chicken wings
- 1 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup Kikkoman® Less Sodium Soy Sauce
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 3 lemons cut into wedges
Instructions
- Fill a large pot or Dutch oven half way with water, bringing to a rapid boil. Salt generously and then add half of the chicken (or whatever fits, being careful not to crowd the pot or overflow).
- Wings are done when they begin to float. Remove floating wings to a paper towel lined baking sheet and allow to cool and drain. Continue until all wings are cooked.
- Use 4 larger freezer bags, double bagged to make two (chicken pieces poke through). Divide wings evenly, 8 and 8, into doubled bagged freezer bags.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together seasoned rice wine vinegar, honey, Kikkoman® Less Sodium Soy Sauce, minced garlic, lemon juice and vegetable oil. Divide evenly between the two bags.
- Massage the marinade into the chicken and place into the refrigerator for 2 hours-24 hours.
- Remove chicken from the bag and marinade. Heat grill to medium high heat. Grill on each side for 5-6 minutes or until the chicken starts to look sticky and glazed. Remember it is already cooked, so you are just reheating and charring for flavor and presentation.
- Serve with lemon wedges. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto chicken before eating. You can half the lemons are grill them for added visual appeal. Warmed lemons will actually produce more juice!
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Love your recipes
Thank you, Phyllis!
This looks so delicious – I have to try this!
Mmmm I love that marinade!! I can almost taste it and smell it now!
The lemon and garlic combination will be delicious. Yum!
We freaking love Kikkoman sauces. They are just the best and total time savers. These wings look incredible.