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Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs)

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs)

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs) are soft and bouncy skewered meatballs grilled with sweet soy sauce.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Appetiser, main
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 24 meatballs
Calories 169 kcal

Equipment

  • pot
  • bowl
  • griller
  • skewers

Ingredients
  

Meatballs

  • 450 g chicken breast mince ground, note 1
  • 50 g chicken fat finely minced, note 1
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon grated onion
  • 1 teaspoon ginger juice squeeze the juice out of grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1.5 tablespoon cornflour/corn starch
  • 1.5 tablespoon sake

Sauce

  • 40 ml soy sauce normal Japanese soy sauce
  • 40 ml mirin
  • 0.5 tablespoon sugar

Instructions
 

Making Sauce

  • Add all the Sauce ingredients to a pot and bring it to the boil. Turn down the heat to medium or medium low and simmer for about 4-5 minutes to reduce the quantity by about a third.

Making Tsukune

  • Add chicken mince, chicken fat and salt in a bowl and mix well until the chicken mince becomes sticky.
  • Add the remaining ingredients, except 1 tablespoon of sake, to the bowl and mix well.
  • Add the remaining sake to the bowl gradually while mixing. The mixture is quite soft but do not add all of the sake specified if the mixture is too soft to grab by hand and form a ball.
  • Boil water in a pot. Coat a cutlery spoon with oil.
  • Grab chicken mince with the left hand and squeeze out mince through the thumb and the index finger. The mince will come out forming a round shape.
  • Take the meatball with the spoon and drop it into the pot. Repeat this for the rest of the mince.
  • Boil meatballs for 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Take the meatballs out and put aside.

Grilling Tsukune

  • Heat griller, griddle or BBQ. Oil the rack/grill where you place the meatballs.
  • Thread 3 Tsukune onto flat skewers.
  • Baste tsukune with the sauce using a brush and cook under the griller or on the griddle/BBQ for 1-2 minutes until the meatballs are slightly burnt.
  • Turn over the skewers and cook further 1-2 minutes. Then baste with the sauce, cook 30 seconds on both sides.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

You could have a mixture of chicken breast and thigh mince for a juicier taste. Cook meatballs in batches to ensure even cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1skewerCalories: 169kcalCarbohydrates: 6.4gProtein: 14gFat: 8.6gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.8gMonounsaturated Fat: 3.5gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 594mgPotassium: 280mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 3.9gVitamin A: 3IUVitamin C: 0.7mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Asian cuisine, chicken recipes, Grilled Meatballs, Japanese Chicken Meatballs, Tsukune, Yakitori
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