Grilled chicken with tare sauce is an easy Japanese-inspired dish with tender chicken fillets coated in a sweet and savory sauce made with soy sauce, mirin, sake, ginger, garlic, and brown sugar. I marinate the chicken in homemade tare before grilling, then brush it with more sauce as it cooks for a glossy coating and plenty of flavor.
From Yakitori to Grilled Chicken Fillets
I first started making this after tasting yakitori at a Japanese restaurant. I really liked the combination of grilled chicken and the rich, sweet-savory tare sauce.
To recreate those flavors at home, I bought a bottle of tare sauce from a specialty store in Helsinki. It was good, but it didn’t taste quite like the sauce I remembered from the restaurant. That sent me looking for recipes to make my own.
I found quite a few different versions of tare. Some used only soy sauce, mirin, and sake, while others added water. Ginger and garlic also appeared in some recipes. In the end, I combined the ingredients I liked and made a version with soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic.
For the sauce, everything simmers gently for about 15–20 minutes. Sometimes I also add a few slices of fresh chili when I want some heat.
No Skewers Needed
I originally had yakitori in mind, but I didn’t have any skewers at home. So instead of cutting the chicken into pieces, I decided to grill the fillets whole. This made the preparation simpler, while still giving me the grilled chicken and tare flavors I was looking for.
It isn’t traditional yakitori, but the idea came from the tare I first tasted with yakitori. I marinate the whole fillets in the sauce and brush on more as they grill. Sometimes I also use the tare on vegetables, as I did with the grilled vegetables served alongside the chicken.
Serving the Chicken
I served the chicken with jasmine rice, fresh salad, chickpea salad, and grilled vegetables glazed with the same tare sauce. I also put some homemade hot sauce on the table for anyone who wanted a little more heat.
The tare works well beyond the chicken, too. I like using some of it to glaze vegetables on the grill, especially when everything is cooked outdoors and can be served straight from the grill.
If you like a little heat, add a few slices of fresh chili to the tare while it simmers. Otherwise, the ginger and garlic give the sauce plenty of flavor without making it spicy.
Share the Recipe
Grilled Chicken with Tare Sauce
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Shallow dish or resealable bag, for marinating
- Grill or grill pan
- Tongs
- Pastry brush, for basting
- Instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
Tare sauce
- 120 ml (½ cup) soy sauce
- 120 ml (½ cup) mirin
- 60 ml (¼ cup) sake
- 60 ml (¼ cup) water
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp fresh ginger thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove sliced
Chicken
- 4 chicken fillets about 600–700 g (1½ lb)
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp neutral oil for grilling
For Serving
- chopped cilantro
- lemon or lime wedges
Instructions
Make the tare sauce
- Add the soy sauce, mirin, sake, water, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic to a small saucepan.
- Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, uncovered for 15–20 minutes. Stir occasionally until the sauce has reduced slightly and the flavors have concentrated.
- Remove the ginger and garlic. Let the sauce cool slightly.
Marinate the chicken
- Place the chicken fillets in a shallow dish or resealable bag.
- Pour about a third of the cooled tare sauce over the chicken and turn to coat. Reserve the remaining sauce for basting and serving.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
Grill the chicken
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and let any excess drip off. Discard the used marinade.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates.
- Season the chicken lightly with salt and black pepper. Keep in mind that the tare is already salty.
- Grill the chicken for about 5–7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness, brushing with the reserved tare sauce during the last few minutes of cooking.
- Continue grilling until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F).
- Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving. Brush with a little more tare sauce just before serving, if desired.
