Barbecue season is here and it’s going to be a hot one! Break out the grill and get some of your old favourites on there, burgers, sausages… The British barbecue never gets old but if you’re looking for a change, why not add a bit of Asian style? Grab yourself a non-stick hot plate, slap in on the grill and impress your friends and family with some of these great-tasting and easy Japanese street foods.
1 Yakisoba
Yakisoba is one of the most popular Japanese street foods. It tastes great, it’s easy to cook and is super moreish.
Stir-fry noodles and cabbage, carrots, pork, yakisoba sauce all together. It also tastes great topped with a fried egg and Japanese mayonnaise.
2 Okonomiyaki
How to make okonomiyaki is a mix of cabbage andokonomiyaki powder and water, then fry like pancake. In okonomiyaki, people normally put seafood like prawn and squid but you can also add pork and noodle. You can also add konnnyaku too. Top with okonomiyaki sauce andJapanese mayonnaise and it’s done! You can also addbonito flakes and aonori for that added touch of authenticity.
3 Yakionigiri
Yakionigiri is a firm favourite for teppanyaki and barbecues in Japan. It translates to ‘fried rice-ball.’ It’s simple but requires some preparation. Cook some short grain sushi riceahead of time in a rice cooker or boil in a pan, and then roll it into a ball, wrap in Clingfilm. Add some sauce to it (soy sauce, tsuyu works great) and then fry on the teppanyaki plate until the outside is crispy and brown. For an added delight, try adding miso, butter or even tuna to the rice before rolling.
4 Yakiniku
Yakiniku simply translates to ‘fried meat’ and in Japan there are restaurants dedicated to this style. Set into the table of a yakiniku restaurant your own personal grill. The meat you order comes out raw. Part of the fun of this style is cooking the meat with your family or friends. There are many different meats to choose from and some odd cuts of meat such as tongue, beef arteries and intestines! The special ingredient that makes yakiniku so delicious is the sauce. It’s usually soy sauce based with added fruit flavours and each brand tastes different. You can cook yakiniku easily with your barbecue grill.
Marinate the meat in yakiniku sauce before you cook and then grill! You can use the sauce as a dipping sauce too.
5 Yakitori
Yakitori is easy to cook for BBQ! Cube the chicken into bite-size pieces and skewer onto a kebab style stick (longer and thicker than cocktail sticks). Add yakitori sauce and grill.
6 Asparagus and bacon
Asparagus and bacon can be cooked same way, wrap bacon around asparagus and skewer them to the stick and grill.
I hope you enjoy your barbecue with these Japanese menu ideas and if you plan to do it again; buying a teppanyaki grill would be a good idea. When putting a hotplate onto a barbecue, they tend to bend under the heat. A teppanyaki grill also heats the food more evenly and keeps the food warmer for longer.