Sticky, smoky and seriously moreish. Chicken meatballs cooked in the oven first to get them firm enough for the skewers, then finished over the Kasai Grill with a sweet soy glaze that caramelises over the coals.
1. Make the chicken meatballs
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
Combine the chicken mince, spring onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
Roll into small, firm meatballs, roughly 30g each. You should get around 16–18 meatballs.
Place on a lined baking tray and cook for 12–15 minutes, until firm and cooked through. The meatballs should be firm enough to thread onto the skewers without breaking apart.
2. Make the soy glaze
Add the soy sauce, mirin, honey, sake or water, ginger and garlic to a small saucepan.
Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Set aside.
3. Thread onto the Kasai Yakitori Skewers
Once the meatballs have cooled slightly, carefully thread 3–4 onto each Kasai Yakitori Skewer.
Brush generously with the soy glaze, making sure each meatball is coated.
4. Finish over the Kasai Grill
Prepare the Kasai Grill with hot binchotan charcoal.
Place the skewers over the grill and cook, turning regularly, until the glaze begins to caramelise and the meatballs develop a beautiful smoky, sticky coating.
Brush with more glaze as you turn them, allowing each layer to caramelise before adding the next. This should take around 5–8 minutes.
Keep an eye on the heat, as the honey can catch quickly. Move the skewers to a cooler part of the grill if the glaze starts to burn.
5. Serve
Finish with a final brush of soy glaze and a scattering of finely sliced spring onions.
Serve hot, straight from the Kasai Grill.
