Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong

The first cookbook from cult yakitori restaurant Yardbird puts the spotlight on chicken - taking grilling to a whole new level

Chicken is the world’s best loved meat, and yakitori is one of the simplest, healthiest ways to cook it. At Yardbird in Hong Kong, Canadian chef Matt Abergel has put yakitori on the global culinary map. Here, in vivid style, with strong visual references to Abergel’s passion for skateboarding, he reveals the magic behind the restaurant’s signature recipes, together with detailed explanations of how they source, butcher, skewer, and cook the birds with no need for special equipment. Fire up the grill, and enjoy. The first comprehensive book about yakitori to be published in English, this book will appeal to home cooks and professional chefs alike.

Matt Abergel, an authority on yakitori chicken, is the head chef of Hong Kong-based restaurants Yardbird and Ronin. Having worked at Masayoshi Takayama’s Masa in New York and at Hong Kong’s Zuma, Abergel opened Yardbird in Hong Kong in 2011. He plans to open a yakitori restaurant in Los Angeles in 2019.