Marinade in a savory sweet sauce, these chicken and scallion skewers (Negima) are hard to resist! It’s great for grilling outdoor or under the broiler.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken tenders (at room temperature)
• 9 green onions/scallions
• neutral flavor oil
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/2 c mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
• 1/4 c sake
• 1/4 c water
• 2 tsp brown sugar (packed)
• short bamboo skewers

Directions:

1. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, add the mirin, soy sauce, sake, water, brown sugar, and the green part of 1 scallion.
3. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
4. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half. It will take about 30 minutes. The sauce will be thicker and glossy.
5. Let it cool to room temperature before using.
6. Reserve 1/3 of the sauce in a small bowl for final coating.  (If the sauce for final coating came in contact with the raw chicken, you have to need to boil the sauce again to avoid contamination.)
7. Cut the chicken into 1/2 thick, 1 in square chunks.
8. Season with salt.
9. Cut the white and light green part of scallions into 1 inch pieces.
10. On a flat work surface, fold each slice of chicken in half.
11. Insert skewer into chicken at 45 degrees angle, and press down on the skewer to pierce thorough the center.
12. Alternate each chicken slice with a piece of scallion lined up perpendicular to the skewer. Each skewer will hold about 4 chicken slices and 3 scallion pieces.
13. Grease the grate of the broiler/wire rack (or oven-safe cooling rack) to avoid the chicken sticking on the grate.
14. Place the skewers on top.
15. Set the broiler to high and wait until the heating elements are hot.
16. Broil for 6 minutes.
17. Once one side has browned, turn over and grill until cooked through to the center.
18. Baste with some sauce and lightly grill once more.
19. Continue to broil for 3-4 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
20. Transfer the skewers to a serving plate and brush the chicken on top with the reserved sauce (with a clean brush).

Serves:   11 – 12 skewers

Source:  Just One Cookbook