![Zucchini With Shallots](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/07/31/dining/31food2/30COOKING-ZUCCHINI2-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Yakitori-Style Salmon With Scallions and Zucchini
![Yakitori-Style Salmon With Scallions and Zucchini](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/08/16/dining/kc-salmon-yakitori/merlin_175275564_d6ed320f-e036-4b38-b5bd-f90980d001a4-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ¼cup canola oil, plus more for greasing
- 1tablespoon minced garlic (from about 3 cloves)
- 1tablespoon minced ginger (from a 1-inch piece)
- ⅔cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ⅓cup turbinado sugar
- 2tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2tablespoons cornstarch
- 1pound small zucchini (about 3), trimmed and sliced ⅛-inch-thick
- 8scallions, trimmed, halved lengthwise, if large, and cut into 2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2pounds boneless, skinless salmon fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-low. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add ⅔ cup water, plus the soy sauce, sugar and vinegar, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Step 2
Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and whisk into sauce. Simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of sauce for basting, and transfer remaining sauce to a small bowl, for serving.
- Step 3
Heat a grill, or a lightly greased cast-iron griddle or grill pan over medium. Season zucchini and scallions with salt and pepper and toss with 2 tablespoons oil. Thread onto wooden skewers that have been soaked in water or metal ones. Season salmon with salt and pepper and toss with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Thread onto skewers.
- Step 4
Grill, basting with sauce and turning every few minutes, until salmon and vegetables are caramelized and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes for salmon and 12 to 15 minutes for vegetables. Serve with lemon wedges and reserved sauce for dipping.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Maybe I missed the obvious, but why are we heating a lightly greased cast-iron griddle pan in Step 3? Do we set this pan on the grill and cook in it, or are we cooking straight on the grill since it's skewers?
I make yakitori on my Weber a lot and I use a trick from Steven Raichlens Barbeque Bible. Use two flat bricks (like pavers) on the grill with a 4 or 5 inch space between them. Lay skewers on them and they'll get direct heat but won't touch the grate and sticking problems will be greatly reduced.
Does turbinado sugar really make a difference compared to regular granulated sugar? I use very little sugar, so I'd rather not keep several types in stock.
I made this for dinner tonight, and I think I'm usually a good cook, but this was shockingly good - I felt like I was eating a restaurant quality meal. I did use brown sugar, and I cooked under the broiler (~12 min for the veg, ~8 for the salmon) because I didn't feel like getting the grill going and I don't have a grill pan or cast iron skillet. Made everything else as directed. The sauce in particular is amazing. Served with rice. Will definitely make again.
OR. The word all the pan-wonderers here missed is OR. Heat your grill or a cast iron pan. Carry on.
Thanks for asking the question about turbinado sugar. I just looked it up and found the following, making me think we could substitute brown sugar. "Turbinado sugar is partially refined sugar that retains some of the original molasses, giving it a subtle caramel flavor. It's made from sugarcane — a non-genetically modified crop, some of which is organically grown."
When grilling with skewers, I use two rather than one to secure the fish and vegetables so they can be turned easily and nothing falls off the grill. Loved this recipe. Mouth-watering!
We made this a few days ago - this is delicious. We BBQ'd the salmon and veggies. The next time we make this, we will change: -With 2 tbsp Cornstarch, the sauce was quite thick (hard to baste with). Will cut down to 1.5 tbsp -We used Coho salmon, and BBQ time was 8 mins. -The green onions on the edges of the skewers charred quite a bit (if you don't want this much charring, sandwich them in between the zucchini).
Turbinado sugar has flavor (or more flavor). You could sub in light brown sugar or add a touch of molasses to your white sugar to achieve a similar flavor.
I was disappointed with the sauce. It was too thick to baste well or use as a condiment. Next time, I will halve the cornstarch and use mirin, sherry, or stock instead of the water to get a richer flavor and a better consistency.
I am going to try this with maple syrup instead of turbinado sugar. My mom used to do this when making Teriyaki sauce and it melded nicely. May grill some onion too as many alliums are delicious when grilled. I'm looking at you, red onion partly cut in my fridge!
what is the purpose of the cast iron griddle if you are putting everything on the grill? what am i missing here?
Try using two flat pavers on the grill with a space between them - about 4 or 5 inches. Lay skewers on pavers with the meat over the gap between them and exposed to direct heat. They'll cook nicely, the skewers won't turn to ash and the meat won't stick to the grate. I learned this from Steven Raichlens BBQ Bible.
The sauce was great. Partway through I started to second-guess skewering the salmon -- mine was thick cut and skin-on and it seemed like it was going to be a disaster. I skewered just the zucchini and green onions and cooked the salmon as fillets, basting everything with the sauce and putting it all under the broiler. Presentation was pretty. Family really liked it but it was a lot of work for what it was. In the future I might make the sauce and broil the zucchini without skewers.
Interleave the salmon and veg. The onion flavors the salmon. They all cook in about the same time.
Reduce the amount of corn starch by 1/2 TBL (1 and 1/2 TBL) otherwise the sauce is too think IMHO.
Yummy, but do not use 2 TBL of corn starch. Way too much. I ended up with gelatin.
Delicious - charring is key
This was absolutely delicious. I was too lazy to cut and skewer the salmon, so I used whole, skin on salmon fillets that I basted with the glaze asi grilled them (skin side down) on a gas grill. The while family enjoyed this immensely.
This recipe was delicious. My 4-year-old devoured the salmon. We included fairly large eggplants on the skewers in addition to the zucchini and scallions. I usually double the garlic and ginger when they're going in a sauce. I did it here, and it balanced the dish better—otherwise, the sauce would have been too sweet. You could get away with less sugar if you wanted too.
Followed Clayton’s advice on all points (less cornstarch, putting scallions among the zucchini, etc.), and cooked on bricks on the bbq. The salmon was amazing. The zucchini were good too, but just the salmon with rice and an Asian inspired salad would be a quick meal! Zucchini took a long time on the bricks
too much sugar so substituted with pomegranate marinade which was good
Hi gals! I don’t put on skewers any more, I just put on sheet pan. I add 1/4 cup orange juice to sauce. Finish salmon under the broiler
Love love loved this. I would recommend putting the chicken on one skewer and the zucchini on another so as not to overcook the zucchini or undercook the chicken. You must use a outdoor grill. Sauce is what makes this recipe sing!
Too much cornstarch! It made the sauce gloopy. Try adding a little at a time to just give the sauce some body. About half a tablespoon worked for me. Otherwise made it as per the recipe and it was DELICIOUS.
Loved the flavor but had a heck of a time threading the zucchini. I used a mandoline for thin slices and when I tried to thread like ribbon candy (and the photo) a lot of them just snapped. Can anyone give me tips on how to thread so they don't break? Thanks in advance.
This is delicious. I've discovered that the frozen salmon filets I keep on hand from my local grocery chain aren't fabulous here (they work better in other preparations), but I'm going to try it next with slices of chicken thighs -- I feel certain this sauce and this zucchini preparation would be gorgeous with chicken yakitori.
Salmon cubes flaked apart on the grill and fell off the sticks. It was rescued into a messy pile and finished off in a frying pan—still tasty but the kabobiness was gone. Veg yakatoris were great though.
Are there any ways to lower the fat content? 45g fat seems really high.
This is fantastic! I don’t use sugar, so I subbed maple syrup and they were out of salmon so I used steelhead. Absolutely fantastic!
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