Chicken yakitori with sake and mirin, rice and cucumber

Ingredients

For 1 serving

• Skinless chicken thighs160 g
• Spring onions2
• Sake20 ml
• Mirin15 ml
• Soy sauce1 tablespoon
• Sushi rice70 g
• Cucumber100 g
• Rice vinegar1 teaspoon
• Sesame seeds3 g

Contains: gluten, soy, sesame,

Method

1. Rinse the sushi rice in cold water, rubbing it, until the water runs almost clear; put it in a small pan with about one and a quarter times its volume of water, bring to the boil, cover, turn the heat to the minimum and cook for 12 minutes, then turn off and leave covered for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring the sake, mirin and soy sauce to the boil in a small pan and reduce over medium heat for 3 minutes, until you have a glossy, slightly syrupy sauce.
3. Wash the cucumber, slice it into very thin rounds and dress it with the rice vinegar. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for 1 minute, until fragrant.
4. Cut the chicken thighs into cubes of about 3 cm and the spring onions into pieces of the same length; thread them alternately onto skewers, soaking them in water first if wooden.
5. Heat a griddle pan or grill over medium-high heat and cook the skewers for 10 minutes, turning often; for the last 3 minutes brush them several times with the sauce, until glazed and lightly caramelised.
6. Serve the skewers with the rice and the drained cucumber sprinkled with sesame.