Street Food

sigh...  I love street food...  Sadly, I and others like me who have to live in America don't have many choices when it comes to street food, aside from the hot dog carts outside the courthouse and the ballpark.. although those ARE the best hot dogs!  :-)  We have a few more options if you go to the state fair, or the art festival, or some other street fair, but technically, to me that's not actually "street food", it's more like "fair food" or "festival food" even though it IS yummy!  mmmm... fry bread... corn dogs... navajo tacos... meat on a stick... Asian noodles...

It's probably "laws" or "liability" that prevents us from enjoying one of life's most basic pleasures: the ability to walk down the street on any given night and experience the aromas and comforts of food being cooked right there on the sidewalk, in front of us.  In Nogales, Sonora, one block outside America, the taco vendor cooks tacos on his portable flat-top grill (I didn't have any -- I think they were blood tacos he was making..) but I could have!  And in Puebla, there is a lady on almost every corner cooking chalupas.  In Ocho Rios, jerk chicken and pork, fried plaintains..  so nice to just stroll and eat, stroll and eat!

Japan has a rich and delicious tradition of street food.  From the oden carts (a hot stew with daikon radish and fish cakes in broth) to takoyaki (chunks of octopus cooked in batter and served on toothpicks) to yaki-imo (roasted sweet potato) to yakitori (bite-size chunks of teriyaki chicken on a stick), the pedestrian has many, many choices when it comes to your street food options.  The sweet potato vendor even has his own song: yaaaaki-imoooooo, ooooishiiiii yo! (translation: yaki-imo: yo! it's delicious!)  When it's a festival, or "matsuri", your street food options increase exponentially.  From grilled squid, okonomiyaki, and dango (mochi), to the little fish on a stick pictured above being roasted over hot coals at Gion Matsuri in Kyoto, festival food is the best!!!

I could go on and on dreaming about the street food I love so much....  in the winter it's so comforting to warm yourself by standing near the food being cooked at the side of the road....  so, although not always seen on the street, you can easily convert Muzz's teriyaki chicken recipe into yakitori by cutting the chicken into chunks and putting the chunks on a skewer.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN OR SALMON:

Boneless, skinless chicken - or - Salmon filet (take out the little bones with needlenose pliers)
Soy Sauce (1/4 to 1/2 cup)
Crushed Garlic (5 or 6 cloves)
Sugar (1/4 cup?)
(optional: ginger, olive oil, red chile flakes - Sarah's additions to the recipe)
Sesame seeds (irigoma)
Green onions

Salmon: cut the filet into serving size pieces
Chicken: pound the chicken to about 1/4 - 3/8 inch thick.  You can use a meat mallet or the bottom of a pan.  For less mess, put the chicken in a large ziplock bag, one piece at a time, and pound it inside the bag.  I prefer thighs for this recipe....
Yakitori: just cut the chicken into 3/4 to 1-inch chunks and put on bamboo skewers that have been soaking in water, 3-5 chunks per skewer.

Using a wire whip (or maybe it's called a whisk) stir together the soy sauce, garlic, and sugar in a bowl.  Add a little ginger, olive oil, or red chile flakes if you like those flavors.  This is your teriyaki sauce.

For teriyaki salmon, go ahead and place the salmon filets into the teriyaki sauce for 15-20 minutes.  You can cook the salmon on the outdoor grill or in the oven at 350 degrees.

For teriyaki chicken, dip the chicken peices in the teriyaki sauce just before placing it on either the outdoor grill or on the stove top in a grill pan (the pan with the raised ridges).

When the chicken is done, slice the chicken into 1/2 inch slices and serve over hot rice.  Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

No need to slice the salmon before serving it.  Just put it next to (or on top of) hot rice.

If you want to make teriyaki glaze, simply cook the leftover teriyaki sauce in a small pan, add some corn starch to thicken it, then strain out the garlic bits.  You really don't need the glaze; this chicken has plenty of flavor just by being dipped in the teriyaki before getting cooked.

And the yakitori -- you really need to cook these outside, where passers-by can truly appreciate the aroma of the grilled chicken wafting through the crisp fall air as they stroll down the sidewalk....  mmmmmmm!!!!!