Yakitori-Style Grilled Vegetable (Homemade Yakitori Sauce)

Step 1

Gather all the ingredients for the sauce.

Step 2

Put all the Yakitori Sauce ingredients in a small saucepan.

Step 3

Whisk the sauce and bring it to a boil on medium-high heat. Dip a chopstick to see the height of the sauce.

Step 4

Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, until the sauce has reduced to one third (it will take about 30 minutes).

Step 5

Again, you can measure the height of the sauce with the chopsticks. Pour into an airtight jar and let cool on the counter. The sauce will thicken with a glossy shine as it cools. You can store the jar in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 months.

Step 6

Gather all the ingredients, yakitori sauce, and bamboo skewers.

Step 7

King oyster mushrooms: Discard the bottom, and cut the mushrooms to 1 inch pieces widthwise. You can also slice in half if the stem is too thick.

Step 8

Shiitake mushrooms: Discard the tough stem and make a decorative cut (optional).

Step 9

Maitake mushrooms: Discard the bottom and tear the mushrooms into smaller pieces.

Step 10

Mushrooms (Cont.): Thread all the mushrooms with 1 or 2 skewers.

Step 11

Cherry tomatoes & shishito peppers: Thread the cherry tomatoes into a skewer. Use 2 skewers for shishito peppers to keep them in balance and easier to flip.

Step 12

Zucchini: Discard the ends and peel the skin alternately to create a stripe pattern. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Face the cut side up and skewer them.

Step 13

White parts of Negi (Japanese long onion): Cut into 2 inch (5 cm) pieces and use 2 skewers.

Step 14

Eggplants: Cut the eggplant right before grilling to avoid discoloration. Discard the tops of the eggplant and cut in half lengthwise.

Step 15

Eggplants (Cont.): Make shallow incisions on the eggplant diagonally (or cut in a crisscross pattern). Do not cut through, and the intervals should be ⅛ inch (3 mm). Cut each eggplant into 3 sections.

Step 16

You can see how I skewered each vegetable in the blog post.

Step 17

Lay foil-covered bricks about 4" (10 cm) apart on the grates of any type of grill to mimic the indirect heat of a yakitori grill (I used 3 bricks on each side). Set the middle burners on a gas grill to the medium-high setting, cover, and preheat for at least 15 minutes.

Step 18

Sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper on all the vegetables, even though we will brush the yakitori sauce later. Lay the skewers on the bricks.

Step 19

Grill for 5-10 minutes (depending on the ingredients) until they are brown and tender. Turn occasionally as they cook. The bamboo skewers won't get too hot on the bricks and they won't get burnt (no need to be soaked before grilling!).

Step 20

Brush the vegetables and mushrooms with yakitori sauce. Continue to grill for additional 1-2 minutes.

Step 21

If you like it spicy, serve the grilled vegetables and mushrooms with a sprinkle of shichimi togarashi. Enjoy!

Step 22

You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.