Japanese chicken meatballs recipe
Last Updated on
Total: 30 min Diners: 4
Japan has endless culinary surprises, some more basic like these chicken dumplings or Tsukune and others more complex like the fascinating world of ramen or the whole philosophy behind sushi.
Ingredients
. Chopped free-range chicken breast, 500 g Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), 80 g Sesame oil, 1 tsp Red miso paste, 1 tbsp Shisho leaves, 8 u Chinese chives, 4 u Fresh ginger, a 1/2 cm peeled piece Egg, 1 u Salt and black pepper, c/s
For the yakitori sauce
. Soy sauce, 120 ml Mirin, 120 ml Sake, 60 ml Brown sugar, 2 tbsp Water, 60 ml Sherry vinegar, 1 tsp Ginger, a 1 cm peeled piece
Step 1
For the sauce what we will have to do will be to put in a ladle all the ingredients and turn the fire on high, once it starts to boil we will lower the heat and let it cook until we have obtained an unctuous density which is the goal. Then strain to remove the ginger and reserve cold.
Step 2
Chop the Chinese chives very small and also the ginger (or grate it) and the shisho leaves. Mix with the minced chicken meat, egg, sesame oil, red miso and panko and season with salt and black pepper.
Step 3
If we use wooden skewers, the ideal is to wet them before, so that they do not burn on the grill or pan, if we use metal skewers it will not be necessary. The only thing left to do is to thread the meat on the skewers, you can make several round balls or a more elongated one, which is almost more traditional.
Step 4
Now the ideal would be to grill the Japanese chicken meatball skewers so that they absorb the flavor of the charcoal but if we don’t have it we can also grill them over medium heat with a few drops of oil, turning them every time they brown on one side.
Step 5
When the chicken is already cooked we will brush with the teriyaki sauce and leave on the griddle 10 seconds more, we can finish with a little more sauce, sichimi togarashi on top, a little chives and your egg yolk on the side to dip well, you can not eat just one, it is a warning!
Notes
Izakaya – the colloquial Japanese taverns – usually dispense a range of varied dishes and it’s common to find a small charcoal grill where yakitori, their famous skewers, are finished.
The accompaniment is a bit special because they are usually served with a bowl with an egg yolk next to it, raw, to go dipping in it but the combination is absolutely winning with the teriyaki sauce and the tremendous juiciness of some dumplings of which you always want more. If you do not want to prepare them yourself, I throw a recommendation: those of Torikey (a restaurant specializing in skewers and traditional Japanese dishes, no sushi) in Madrid. They are like traveling to Japan.
