Hibachi Chicken

I bought my Hibachi a long time ago, I cant remember why.  It is a portable Japanese charcoal burner.  I hardly used it and kept lugging it around the country as I moved from vineyard to vineyard.  But after a holiday to Vietnam last year, I have a new found love for it.

Everywhere we went there was street food cooking over coal.  Coal, not coals, not charcoal, but coal dug from the ground and compressed into these heat cylinders.  

The sulphurous smell, mixed with the tropics and the wonderful foods was hedonism.  I just  had to emulate it as best as I could.  So I broke out the old rusty Hibachi and went to my local BBQ shop, grabbed some charcoal and went nuts.  The charcoal, created from heating/cooking wood, doesn't give that same third world aroma, but it is a pretty good approximation. Here is what we had last week, when summer appeared in Hobart, for a brief moment.

Hibachi Chicken

As usual we use only the best chicken, Nichols, but grab thighs.  Chicken breast meat is for pet food, it is dry and I have never had a good one.  Yes, breast is fat free, also flavour free.

Coat your chicken in a generous amount of Waji Cajun Meat Seasoning and marinate for awhile.  Don't have this in your cupboard? Why not!  It is the best spice mix, and very reasonably priced.  Also get your self one of these bbq racks (we got ours cheap from Chatuchuk):

Now lay each chicken thigh steak (dont chop your chicken up) on the grill and close it up.  Place it on the Hibachi, which has been lit half an hour in advance. 

Now you want to turn the chicken regularly as the coals will be (should be!) hot, and you want to avoid a black mess.  But brown crunchy bits are recommended.  Every time you turn the grill, undo it and knock the sticking chicken off the top section.  This will save you lots of pain when it comes to removing it.

Please don't over cook it, chicken so often is.  This should be cooked when it is firm, not hard, to compress.  Cut a bit open if you are unsure, it should be just cooked through.  Now plate up with your favourite accompaniment. We served our chicken with roast potato wedges and home garden salad.  Enjoy