Sasami yakitori

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

Sasami is a traditional yakitori dish made with chicken meat from the inner breast, also known as chicken tenders. This type of meat is high in protein and low in fat. The pieces of meat are (sometimes) marinated in sake, placed on skewers, then grilled until done, but not overgrilled. When served, sasami is often accompanied by salt, wasabi, or tare sauce on the side. Due to the somewhat bland flavor of sasami yakitori, it's sometimes topped with miso paste, shiso leaves, umeboshi paste (sour pickled plum paste), or mentaiko (fish roe). The dish can be found in most izakaya bars and it's usually paired with a cold beer on the side.