Tsukune Japanese Chicken Meatballs

Japanese Chicken Meatballs

Tsukune means Japanese-style meatballs. And that's precisely what these Japanese minced chicken skewers are. By using chicken instead of beef or pork, these balls become leaner.

Season the chicken meatballs lightly and add some Panko and egg to bind the ground chicken. This ensures juicy, tender balls. The sweet Yakitori sauce is perfectly balanced and provides all those delicious flavors from Japanese cuisine.

Do you like Japanese? Then you'll love these Yakitori Chicken Skewers, Japanese Poached Salmon in Miso, or Beef Teriyaki with Broccoli.

This recipe is based on the basisboek Aziatisch (Dutch) by Jody Wassalon and Emily Ezekiel.

What do you need for Tsukune?

To prepare these Japanese Chicken Meatballs, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:

Japanese Chicken Meatballs

• Ground chicken - For this recipe, I used minced chicken; ready-made is so easy. But of course, chicken breast or chicken breast fillet is also possible. When using those, grind them finely into mince in the food processor. You only need to add half of the panko because it contains less moisture.
• Eggs - Helps bind the meat and keep its shape during cooking.
• Salt - to flavor the chicken meatballs.
• Cornstarch - To thicken the sauce and give it a silky shine. Before adding, dissolve the cornstarch in water. That way, you won't get lumps. It also makes the meat a bit softer.
• Panko - Panko is the Japanese variation of breadcrumbs. It has the advantage that it tastes crumbly and fluffier. But if you don't have it, you could also use breadcrumbs.
• Ginger - Use fresh ginger root. Remove the skin with a vegetable peeler if you can't gain organic ginger.
• Sunflower oil - Brushing the chicken meatballs with oil before grilling will prevent them from sticking and make them easier to turn.

Teriyaki sauce

• Sake - A Japanese cooking wine, light in taste. You can replace it with Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine).
• Soy sauce - All-purpose soy sauce (or Japanese soy sauce). It's light soy sauce with more flavor (but you could use light soy sauce too)
• Mirin - Sweet Japanese cooking wine. Mirin is much sweeter than Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing). If you're using the latter as a Mirin substitute, add ½ teaspoon of extra brown sugar.
• Confectioners sugar - To sweeten the sauce.

How to prepare Chicken Meatball Teriyaki

You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.

1. Mix the ground chicken with the eggs, salt, cornstarch, panko, and ginger, and knead well.
2. Roll the chicken mince mixture into balls and place on a cold plate. Let it set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
3. Thread three balls onto a skewer and brush with some oil. Heat the griddle pan and fry the skewers, occasionally turning, until done and fully cooked.
4. Meanwhile, make the sauce by heating sake, soy sauce, mirin, and powdered sugar over medium heat until boiling. Make a paste of cornflour with water, and when the sauce boils, add it to the teriyaki sauce. Bring back to a boil while stirring, and simmer until thickened.

Put the skewers on a plate and drizzle with the Teriyaki sauce. Serve with the remaining of the sauce. Delicious with rice and a cucumber salad.
Garnish with some thinly sliced spring onions.