🏠Tsukune – Easy Tasty Japanese Chicken Meatball Recipe

Tsukune comes from the word “tsukuneru”, which means to knead.

Yakitori or Izakaya style tsukunes are often served on a stick, but homemade tsukunes are served like flat meatballs.

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• Minced chicken (thighs) – 500g
• Spring onion – 2
• Ginger, grated – 1 tablespoon
• Sake – 1 tablespoon
• Corn/Tapioca starch – 1 tablespoon
• Egg whites – 2 (keep the yokes for dipping)

Sauce:

• Sake – 4 tablespoons (60ml)
• Mirin – 4 tablespoons
• Sugar – 2 tablespoons
• Soy sauce – 4 table spoons

How to make Japanese chicken meatballs

1. Finely chop spring onion, and grate ginger.
2. Mix all the meatball ingredients in a bowl, and knead until it becomes sticky.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Spoon the pate onto the pan to make meatballs.
4. Cook on medium heat for 3 mins. 
5. Turn the meatballs over and cook on low heat with a lid for 5 mins or until cooked through.
6. Add the sauce mixture to the pan, and turn meatballs while cooking on medium heat until sauce thickens.
7. Rest it on the pan for 5 mins – this makes the meatballs soak in the sauce!
8. Serve with egg yoke for dipping, and/or rice.

Making tsukune from thigh fillets

If making from thigh fillets, throw all the meatball ingredients into a food processor and whiz away until it becomes a pate. Proceed to step 3.