Active Time

　　15 minutes

　　Total Time

　　1 hour 15 minutes

　　Sasami, chicken breast fillets or chicken tenders, are the leanest part of a chicken: the fine-grained, delicate meat of the chicken breast. When sasami are really fresh they may be eaten raw as sashimi, and they are served in this fashion at restaurants in Japan. Since sasami have such a delicate flavor, they are basted with only a small quantity of condiments, such as umeboshi (pickled plum) or wasabi. Be careful not to overcook this cut; it dries out easily.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　4 chicken breast fillets (also called chicken tenders)

　　1 umeboshi (pickled plum), pitted and chopped

　　2 Tbsp. sake

　　1 Tbsp. mirin

　　4 shiso leaves, julienned

　　

Step 1

Soak four bamboo skewers in water for at least 1 hour. Remove the white, stringlike tendon from each chicken breast fillet. Make a long cut on one side of each fillet. Run a knife deeper into the fillet, from the top to the bottom, to make a long pocket. Do not cut through to the other side of the fillet.

　　

Step 2

In a small cup, mix the pickled plum, sake, and mirin. Apply this paste in a thin layer to one side of the inside pocket of each fillet. Scatter shiso on top of the paste. Close the open edge of each breast fillet with a bamboo skewer.

　　

Step 3

Heat a grill or broiler. Salt the outside of the fillets liberally on both sides, and cook the chicken on the grill or in the broiler, turning the skewers several times, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Serve the chicken hot.

　　Reprinted from The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo with permission from Harvard Common Press. Buy the full book from Amazon.