Pork skewers (yakiton, 焼きとん) are the second most popular skewers after chicken skewers (yakitori, 焼き鳥) in Tokyo. Pork is generally more satiating and flavorful than chicken, so I tend to crave pork skewers more than chicken skewers.
I used to get pork skewers delivered on busy nights but recently found a way to prepare them at home quickly and easily.
The trick is preparing raw skewers in a big batch and storing them in the freezer. On the day you want to eat them, simply take a few from the freezer and cook them for about 10 mins. No defrosting is necessary!
I often like to cook just a few of them as a late-night snack. They are delicious, satiating, and keto-friendly. It’s much healthier and more satisfying than potato chips!
Easy Pork Skewers (Yakiton | Great as a Quick Snack!)
Equipment
- 5 skewers
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lb) pork belly (I like using pork belly for this recipe, but you can use other cuts of pork too (see Recipe Notes below).)
Flavorings (optional)
- salt
- black pepper
- mustard
- Japanese pickled plum (umeboshi)
directions
Preparing raw skewers
- Chop the block of pork into 2 cm (0.8 in) slices.
- Then chop them into chunks 4.5cm (1.8 in) wide.
- Skewer several chunks.The fat layers should run horizontal so that the chunks can stay more stably on the skewers while they are being cooked and the fat layers start to melt away.
- They can be cooked immediately, but I like to freeze them, so I can snack on them whenever I want. If you want to cook them right away, skip the freezing step.
Storing raw skewers in the freezer (optional)
- Before putting the skewers into the freezer, place each skewer apart from each other in a plastic bag or a container so that they won't get frozen sticking to each other.
- Placing a parchment paper between the layers of skewers will prevent them from sticking to each other.
- Into the freezer 🙂
Cooking the skewers
- Place the skewers in a fish grill or oven. I'm using a fish grill in the picture and the video.If the skewers were stored in the freezer, you can cook them straight out of the freezer (defrosting is not necessary).Cook for 7 mins or so on high heat.
- Flip them over.
- Cook for another 3 mins or so until both sides start to brown and most of the fat has drained.If they look like this in the picture, they are ready!
Delicious Flavoring Options
- Flavor #1 – salt & pepperSimple 🙂
- Flavor #2 – mustard
- Flavor #3 – Japanese pickled plum (umeboshi)
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- The meat should have nice layers of fat, amounting to about 50% fat and 50% flesh. You can use leaner cuts of pork too, but I find pork belly is the juiciest and the most delicious. I’ve tried with pork shoulder loin too, but the meat came out rather dry after cooking.
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Nutrition
Hi! I’m a Japanese woman who lives in Tokyo. My passion is cooking and eating food. Read more about me at https://sakurayubi.com/about/
