Living in Japan Tip | Japanese Foods & Dining
Yakitori with Tare or Shio
If you travel to Japan for a visit, you might already have plans to experience authentic Japanese cuisine and Japanese foods, like Sushi, Ramen or Shabu Shabu. But, we also recommend taste a few local Japanese foods. One example, is Yakitori.
Yakitori is skewered grilled chicken, and it is one of the most popular snacks(fast food) served at an Izakaya, or Japanese style casual bar and grill.
Enjoying a cold beer with Yakitori is the perfect combination!
There are various kinds of Yakitori and usually are named after the part of the meat being grilled. For example, Motsu is giblets, Reba is liver, etc. Basically, these specific meats are only served at specialized Yakitori restaurant scalled Yakitori-Ya.
The Yakitori they serve at many Izakaya is usually chicken pieces, in the most cases. So, if you order a Yakitori by saying
One (dish of) Yakitori please
at an Izakaya, you will receive Yakitori of grilled chicken pieces, which will consist of 2 or 3 skewers in a serving. Oiishi !! - delicious in Japanese
Ordering Yakitori is not so difficult. However, you need to remember one thing, the waiter/waitress will ask you which flavor of Yakitori you like to have, Shio or Tare.
Shio is salty and Tare is barbecued or with a Teriyaki kind of sweet sauce.
So, if you don't understand Japanese and when the waiter/waitress says something very strange to you :-) when you order Yakitori, just say
"Shio" or "Tare"
Or, you can order by saying this:
One Yakitori. Tare. (One dish of Yakitori with Tare sauce, please.)
Or
One Yakitori. Shio. (One dish of Yakitori with salt, please.)
In Japanese, try this.
Yakitori Hitotsu. Tare de. (One dish of Yakitori with Tare sauce, please
Or
Yakitori Hitotsu. Shio de. (One dish of Yakitori with salt, please)
And, don't forget to have a beer! Or two. :-)
Yakitori with Tare. (Sweet sauce). I bought them at a deli near my house. You can even buy Yakitori at Supermarkets now.
