“Hatsumoto” is only available in a good yakitori shop
Yakitori (grilled bite-sized chicken on skewers) is one of the most popular Japanese tsumami (side dish) that pairs with sake and beer. It can be eaten simply with salt, or with yakitori-sauce (blended soy sauce, sugar, and sake). Almost all parts of a chicken can be used for yakitori, and each part has its own texture and flavor. Kawa (skin) is rich in fat so it is usually grilled slowly to burn off the fat till it becomes crispy. Tsukune (small chicken meatballs) is perfectly cooked when it is crispy on the surface and juicy on the inside.
It is not easy to find a good yakitori shop among the many such shops in Japan. As a general rules of thumb, the shop is good if it is full of customers. In addition, I would strongly recommend the shop if it offers “hatsumoto.” “Hatsumoto” literally means “next to the heart”, that is to say, the connective tissue and blood vessels between the heart and liver of a chicken. This part is usually thrown away by butchers as it takes time to clean it. Therefore, providing “hatsumoto” means that the cook buys a fresh whole chicken every morning and has enough technique to trim the flesh so as to provide the best part to his customers.
