Yakitori

Yakitori is literally translated from Japanese as "Grilled bird." Appetizing, no? Seriously, I could eat this bird any day of the week. It's sweet and nutty with a spicy aftertaste that provides just enough complexity to make me forget that I'm eating something remotely healthy.

I found this when I was looking for anything BUT nutritious meal ideas...I was searching through recipes from P-Dub! ( If you're willing to contribute a substantial amount of your income to Land-O-Lakes, check out The Pioneer Woman Cooks. It is so choice.)

Lucky for me, I found Kay, a guest blogger for P-Dub. She's from The Netherlands! Since my experience in the Netherlands has always been, umm, nutritious, I figured she could hook me up.

Here's Aubrey having a healthy snack in Amsterdam...

It's probably pretty lame that I got my first Japanese cooking lesson from Dutch Girl Cooking » but, I've got to start somewhere....

Yakitori ( adapted from "Dutch Girl Cooking" at kayotickitchen.com)

1 pound chicken fillets- cut up in skewer sized pieced...about 1 inch

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup mirin (don’t panic: you can substitue 1/2 white cooking wine and 3 tbsp extra sugar)

1 tsp grated ginger (Sorry, I used ground)

2 garlic cloves

Drop of sesame oil (Seriously, just one drop!)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Optional- Green onion...you have many decorative options here...

1. Add everything but the onion and the chicken into a small sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Simmer until it thickens up like a syrup.

2. Assemble chicken pieces and onion on your skewer in whatever pattern strikes your fancy. I used three cut pieces in between each hunk of chicken. Kay made double skewers with whole green onions joining the two together. You have the option to go as far as your creativity will take you but just get those bird chunks on the stick.

3. Baste the skewers with the syrup marinade and place on a heated grill. If at all possible, use a different grill than the one you see used up there. Once it touches food, it doesn't like to give it up. It's like Aubrey in grill version. Apply more marinade as desired. Cook through.

Serve with rice. That's it! Enjoy!