Yakitori

Yakitori (literally grilled chicken) is Japan’s most popular snack—enjoyed daily at innumerable yakitori parlors, where office workers gather after work for drinks, eats, and camaraderie. (To read about a quintessential yakitori parlor in Tokyo.) Traditionally, the chicken is skewered with negi, a member of the green onion family that’s thicker than a scallion but thinner than a leek. If you can find slender young leeks, use them in this recipe