Tsukune

Chicken meatballs grilled dry first and glazed only at the end, with cartilage for texture.

Chicken, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains chicken.

Ingredients

the meatballs

600 g minced chicken thigh
60 g chicken cartilage, finely chopped
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 tablespoons potato starch
1 egg
20 g ginger, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon miso

tare

4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon sugar

to serve

4 egg yolks

Method

GRILLED DRY FIRST, GLAZED ONLY AT THE END. The tare is sugar and soy and it burns black in two minutes over a live fire. So the skewers cook through bare, and the glaze goes on in three coats in the last ninety seconds.
CHOPPED CARTILAGE IS THE TEXTURE. Minced chicken alone sets soft and uniform; the cartilage gives a crunch that is the whole character. Left out, these are pleasant chicken meatballs.
Squeeze the chopped onion dry in a cloth. Its water makes the mix too loose to hold a skewer.
Beat the mixture against the bowl for 2 minutes until it is tacky and pulls in one mass. Underworked, it falls off the skewer into the fire.
CHILL IT 30 MINUTES. Cold mixture holds its shape; warm mixture sags.
Shape with WET hands into ovals round flat skewers, squeezing firmly so the meat grips.
Tare: simmer all four together 5 minutes until lightly syrupy, and keep it warm in a shallow dish for dipping.
Grill over a medium heat, 3 minutes a side, turning twice. No sauce yet.
Then dip each skewer into the tare, return to the fire for 20 seconds, and repeat THREE times. Each coat sets before the next, which is what builds the lacquer.
Serve with a raw egg yolk in a small dish to dip into.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes