Barbecue - Japanese style

Yakiniku, which literally translates from the Japanese as 'grilling meat is a new restaurant trend just appearing in the UK, where each diner gets a personal grill on which to cook various cuts of meat. This delicious food experience can be converted to the garden barbecue.

If you are planning a Japanese-style barbecue, aim for chicken and fish as your primary non vegetable ingredients, as these are traditional Japanese grilling foods. While the Japanese eat an almost unlimited range of fish, the less adventurous British can get away with utilising hake and salmon - both as popular in Japan as here. To cook, simply cover with salt, pepper and oil, and grill making sure you don't overcook and dry out the fish. Squid is another favourite for Japanese barbecues as it is both tasty and healthy - ask your fishmonger to cut small squid into rings, press them down on the grill to cook and serve with a soy and ginger dipping sauce.

Japanese barbecue food emphasises the natural flavours of products like vegetables, rice and soybeans that are often used in Japanese cooking. Rice is an essential ingredient and accompanies every Japanese meal, including breakfast, in fact the Japanese words for rice and meal are the same!

Try this simple recipe:

Coriander Chicken

• 4 x 225 g skinless, boneless chicken fillets
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 225 g basmati rice
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

Combine the coriander, lemon juice and zest, caster sugar and soy sauce. Coat the chicken in the marinade and leave for two hours. Cook the rice and while you do, grill the chicken for twenty minutes, turning occasionally. Fold the parsley into the cooked rice and serve with the chicken.

Barbecue Japanese photograph by Kanko, used under a creative commons attribution licence.

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