Yakitori's working-class pork cousin, born in Tokyo's post-war stall culture: skewers running the whole pig from cheek (kashira) and belly to tongue, heart and intestine, grilled over charcoal with salt or miso-tinged tare. It defines the smoky standing bars of neighborhoods like Shimbashi and Akabane.
Also known as: yakiton, kushiyaki, Japanese pork skewers, yakiton skewers, butakushi
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 350 g skinless pork belly
- 350 g pork shoulder or cheek (kashira)
- coarse sea salt
- 1/4 white cabbage, in wedges
- karashi (Japanese hot mustard)
- 1 lemon, in wedges
- optional tare: 50 ml soy sauce, 50 ml mirin, 1 tbsp sugar, simmered thick
How to make it
- 1
Cut both cuts of pork into 2.5 cm pieces, keeping belly and shoulder strictly separate.
- 2
Build single-cut skewers — all belly or all shoulder per stick, four pieces each — and season with coarse salt just before cooking.
- 3
Grill close over high heat 8-10 minutes, shifting the sticks whenever dripping fat flares.
- 4
Serve shio-style with lemon, a dab of karashi and raw cabbage wedges to crunch between skewers, Tokyo standing-bar fashion.
Pro tip: Never mix cuts on one stick: belly finishes 2 minutes before shoulder, and a mixed skewer always sacrifices one of them.
