Yakitori chicken hearts with soba salad

Offal often gets a bad rap but it’s one of the most underappreciated weapons in a home-cook’s arsenal. When done right it is both accessible and truly delicious. Did I mention - it’s also cheap! This Japanese style recipe makes use the oft-overlooked chicken heart and complements it with a fresh soba salad (which can be served warm or cold). Unapologetically, this recipe will likely require a trip to your local Asian grocer but it’s certainly a trip that’s certainly worth making.

Ingredients

250 g	Chicken hearts, Should be about 40 hearts (Main)
1 Tbsp	Soy sauce, Ideally, Japanese soy sauce
1 Tbsp	Mirin, Japanese, sweet cooking wine
1 tsp	Sugar
2 tsp	Garlic, Crushed
2 tsp	Fresh ginger, Peeled and finely grated
1 sprinkle	Mild chili powder, I use S&B Japanese chili powder

Soba salad

270 g	Soba noodles, 1 packet (Main)
1	Carrot, Peeled and julienned
1	Cucumber, Peeled and julienned
1	Red capsicum, Julienned
100 g	Button mushrooms, Sliced
3 Tbsp	Dark soy sauce, Ideally, Japanese soy sauce
1 tsp	Sugar
2 Tbsp	Fresh ginger, Peeled and finely grated
1 tsp	Garlic, Crushed
¼ cup	Soy sauce, Ideally, Japanese soy sauce
1 handful	Fresh coriander, Chopped

Directions

1. For the chicken hearts, mix together the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic and ginger in a bowl to form a marinade.
2. Add the chicken hearts to the bowl with the marinade and mix together well to ensure the hearts are well coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl, and marinade for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
3. Meanwhile, soak bamboo skewers in water for 1 hour.
4. For the soba salad, cook soba noodles in boiling water until cooked but not mushy(or according to package instructions). Rinse and drain.
5. Cook capsicum and carrots in a hot frying pan with a dash of oil (sesame oil if available) until softened. Remove and set aside.
6. Cook mushrooms in a hot frying pan with a dash of oil and 3 tbsp of dark soy sauce. Remove and set aside.
7. For the soba salad, in a saucepan, add remaining soy sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic and boil for 2 minutes to form a dressing.
8. In a large salad bowl, layer soba noodles, capsicum and carrots, mushrooms and cucumbers. Drizzle with dressing just prior to serving and top with coriander. If you want to serve cold, let the veggies and noodles cool before adding dressing.
9. Once the hearts have finished marinating, add 3-4 chicken hearts lengthwise (from top to bottom of heart) to each bamboo skewer. Depending on the length of skewer you may be able to fit more hearts on each.
10. Spray griddle pan or barbecue grill with cooking spray and heat up. Once hot, put the skewers on the barbecue or grill and cook for a few minutes (about 4 minutes) on each side.
11. Sprinkle cooked hearts with dusting of chili powder and serve immediately alongside salad.