Yakitori Momo (もも, chicken thigh skewers)

Momo is the skewer that tells you whether the grill is honest. Chicken thigh looks humble, and that is its strength. It has enough fat to forgive a nervous hand, enough flavor to stand with salt alone, and enough patience to take a thin brushing of tare without disappearing under it.

The hesitation is usually the fire. People imagine yakitori as a counterman's trick, all timing and secret sauce. It isn't. Cut the thigh evenly, thread it without crowding, and grill it hot enough that the outside browns before the inside dries. That is most of the work. The tare is there to shine, not to rescue. Nothing hidden.

We make momo two proper ways: tare, brushed late so the soy, mirin, sake, and sugar set into a lacquer-like gloss, or shio, finished with salt so the chicken speaks plainly. Both are honmono. The choice isn't a question of difficulty, only of what you want to taste first.

On a Japanese table, yakitori can be snack, supper, or the good reason everyone has gathered near the fire. Serve the skewers hot, in odd numbers if you are plating them, with a little empty space around them. The skewer is small, but the rule is large: source well, cut evenly, and let the grill do its work.