About Ryan McCorvie

While in Japan, Ryan McCorvie and his family saw much of the ancient and modern parts of Tokyo and developed a shared appreciation of Japanese culture and cuisine. They made numerous trips to Omoide Yokocho, a famed Tokyo street food hub. That’s where Ryan found his passion for yakitori, a type of grilled chicken perfected by the city’s humble yet proud vendors.

Yakitori is not like other grilled chicken dishes. It’s generally made on a small, shallow grill that runs on a special type of charcoal known as binchotan. Binchotan has a whitish hue and burns much more cleanly than typical black charcoal, which tends to impart a smoky flavor to the food it cooks. To the extent that yakitori has any char flavor at all, it comes from the grill marks, leaving the rest of the chicken untouched except by the meat’s natural juices and the all-important seasoning applied by the yakitori chef.

(Yakitori can be cooked with lump charcoal or even briquettes where binchotan isn’t available, but the traditional style uses binchotan only.)

The unmistakable flavor of yakitori comes from a soy-based sauce called tare. In addition to soy sauce, the main ingredients in tare include ginger, sugar, mirin (rice wine), and sake (another type of wine). Seasoned yakitori chefs fine-tune these ingredients, as well as seasonings like scallions, ginger, and other spices, to make their own unique tare. No two “street” tares are quite alike, a fact that wasn’t lost on Ryan as he learned more about this very special dish.

Another key difference between yakitori and Western-style grilled chicken is the cooking temperature. This is a low-and-slow technique, with the ideal grill temp around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The cook rotates the meat frequently to achieve an even cook and avoid over-charring or drying out the meat.

During cooking, the chef occasionally brushes the chicken and skewers with tare. This imparts flavor as the meat cooks and insures it doesn’t dry out. Sometimes, the chef dunks the entire skewer in a large bowl or plate of tare. The final dunk or brush happens shortly before the chicken is removed from the grill for good, so that the plated dish has a sticky, sweet “finish” that front-loads flavor.

Ryan found his love of yakitori in Japan, but he honed his cooking skills back home in California, where he spent hours watching Japanese-language cooking shows, taking Japanese cooking classes, and reading cookbooks to perfect his personal yakitori style. In the process, he branched out from yakitori and developed an impressive cooking range, with favorite dishes including yakisoba (a versatile noodle dish that can be served with various types of veggies, meats, and spices), toneki (a type of grilled pork entree), meat and vegetable stir fry, and chicken teriyaki (which is in some ways a more familiar-to-Americans version of yakitori).

As his cooking skills improved and his confidence grew, Ryan started a YouTube channel showcasing some of his specialties. Geared toward beginner chefs, his videos walk through the cooking process step by step, simplifying the more complicated techniques and translating some Japanese-language cooking jargon.

Like many amateur cooks, Ryan is always honing his craft and looking to expand his repertoire. He hopes to learn more advanced Japanese cooking techniques and grow into other global cuisines.

Of course, Ryan McCorvie doesn’t spend all his free time in the kitchen. Here’s a bit more about him:
 

• He is a Wikimedia Benefactor who believes deeply in the power of information and the importance of a free, unfettered Internet.

• His hobbies include backgammon, clay pigeon shooting, and cycling.

• He’s an avid music fan and amateur music producer.

• He’s active in his local church and helps oversee its charitable activities and community engagement.

• He lives in northern California with his family.