CHICKEN & PORK YAKITORI

So simple, so delicious it's crazy! You don't need a big fancy grill for this meal, just a clay pot and some fire, truly.

We sparked up the Shichirin last night on a whim. The craving was for kebabs and well, if that's what is asked for, we make yakitori instead and the secret isn't in the meat, it's entirely the sauce. So before you prepare anything else, make your sauce.

Here's all you need:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 cup sake

• 1/2 cup pure orange juice

• 1/4 cup caster sugar

• 1/4 cup freshly grated old ginger (and all the juices that you squeeze out)

• 3 tbsp quality honey

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

• 1 tbsp hot sauce of your choice

• 5-7 small garlic cloves, crushed

• 1.5 tsp cornstarch

Combine everything except the cornstarch in a small pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes on a low heat. Once done, take the cornstarch and mix it with a little bit of cold water and set aside. Grab a sieve and remove the solids from your sauce then return the pot back to the stove. Add the diluted cornstarch and keep stirring until the sauce starts to thicken. Keep it on a low heat for another 10-15 minutes and then remove it and set it aside.

To prep your protein and veg get yourself 4 boneless chicken thighs (always go for the dark meat for yakitori) and a small pork loin. Prepare small "skewer-able" pieces and then hit them with a simple combination of 1 part kosher salt, 1 part black pepper, 1/4 part garlic powder and 1/4 part onion powder. This is a simple "Go-To" all purpose rub that you can use on anything. Coat the meat and pop it back in the fridge for another hour. Prepare any veg you like. For last night's meal we used cherry tomatoes, baby zucchini, mini corn and some green onion.

Fire up your kamado or shichirin and get the coals glowing red. Don't rush this, you want to get a really hot grill top for this to work well.

Now simply get your skewers ready by threading veg and meat in alternate sequence. I find it helpful to have an anchor like a zucchini, that way none of your meat will slide off the end.

Coat your grill with a bit of vegetable oil and you're ready to start grilling your yakitori. For the pork it took about 10 minutes and when your thermometer hits 145F (63C) you're done. Simply flip the skewers and move them around the grid if you find you need a bit more heat on a particular skewer. The chicken temperature should register at 165F (74C). When your skewers are done, hold them over a shallow dish and drizzle with the yakitori sauce you prepared earlier.

That's it. Simple and so tasty! Let us know how you get on.