Place all of the teriyaki sauce ingredients into a small saucepan. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Chicken Skewers (Yakitori)
Soak 8–10 medium bamboo skewers in cold water for 10 minutes — this stops them burning or charring.
Spear the chicken and spring onion onto the soaked skewers and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the skewers, cover with a lid, and sear for 3 minutes on both sides. Do this in batches.
Add all the chicken skewers back to the pan (overcrowding doesn't matter now) and pour in the teriyaki sauce. Cook for 1–2 minutes, or until thick and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F), rotating the skewers in the sauce.
Carrot & Parsnip Stir Fry
Toast the sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Remove.
Add the peanut oil, carrots, and parsnips to the same pan or wok over high heat and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and mirin and cook for 2 minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and sesame seeds, mix well, and remove from the stovetop.
Serving
Place the stir fry on a plate or in a bowl, and place the chicken yakitori over the top — or serve the stir fry on the side. Garnish with spring onion. Dig in.
Chef's Tips
Soak the bamboo skewers for the full 10 minutes, not less — dry skewers will char and burn under the pan's heat before the chicken is anywhere near done.Sear the skewers covered with a lid first, in batches, before crowding them all back in together — this gets proper colour on the chicken before the sauce goes in, rather than steaming it from the start.Toast the sesame seeds before anything else touches the pan — they burn fast once the pan's hot, and doing them first means one less thing to watch once the stir-fry is moving.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate the chicken skewers and stir-fry separately for up to 3 days, in airtight containers. Freezing is possible for up to 2 months, though the vegetables will lose some crunch on thawing.To reheat, warm the chicken in a pan or microwave until hot throughout (74°C/165°F), and then stir-fry in a hot pan for a couple of minutes to bring back some texture. Thaw frozen portions in the fridge overnight before reheating.