Japanese Tsukune
Japanese tsukune are meatballs coated with a salty-sweet sauce. It's one of the common grilled items served at Japanese yakitori restaurants. This dish is perfect for your next barbecue cook-out or dinner. The meatballs are soft, bouncy, and smooth in texture. Create your minced meat with your desired protein. Optionally, stuff it with vegetables. Finish with a Japanese staple, the shichimi togarashi spice blend.Stock up culinary spice kits - Limited time only!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat chicken, turkey, pork, veal, beef, or mixed
- 1 egg
- 4 green onions finely sliced
- 1 tbsp corn starch or tapioca flour
- 4 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 3 tbsp cooking wine, dry sherry, or mirin
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- 1 inch ginger grated
- oil sesame or vegetable
Tsukune Culinary Spice Kit
- [shichimi togarashi] Toasted sesame seeds, black & white, hemp seeds, seaweed, orange peel, tangerine peel, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn
Suggested Sides
- Cooked or steamed rice
- Cooked or steamed bok choy, green asparagus, zucchini, spinach, or broccoli
- Fresh salad from cucumber and mung bean sprouts
Instructions
Sauce
- In a CUP, mix 3 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp cooking wine, and 1 tbsp sugar.
Prepare Meatballs
- In a large BOWL, mix onions, ginger, and meat until well combined.
- To the meat-onion mixture, add 1 tbsp soy sauce, egg, and corn starch. Combine well.
- Form balls of about 2 inches in diameter or flat patties. (*)
Fry Meatballs
- In a PAN, fry meatballs over medium heat until they turn brown on all sides.
- Cover. Cook until meatballs are cooked thoroughly.
- Remove lid and any oil or cooking liquid. Push meatballs to the sides.
- Add sauce in the center and keep meatballs on the sides for the following step.
- Cook over low heat until the sauce reduces and becomes less liquid.
- Slowly, turn meatballs in the sauce until all are evenly coated with a shiny glaze.
Serve
- Serve the meatballs with your preferred sides.
- Sprinkle with Tsukune spices.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Stock up culinary spice kits - Limited time only!
Get Shichimi Togarashi Now Grill: Form balls or small sausages of about 1 inch in diameter and thread them onto skewers. Baste them with the sauce and grill them on both sides. Noodles: Triple the sauce and add cooked wide noodles in the last step to the PAN. Stuffed: (*) Add cooked green beans and carrot sticks and form meat sausages around them.
