Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatball Skewers)

Yakitori Sauce:
¼ cup water
¼ cup saké
½ cup mirin
½ cup soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar (packed tightly and levelled off)
Tsukune:
2–3 spring onions
6 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba)
500 g ground chicken (use half white meat + half dark meat if grinding your own)
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (plus more for coating your hands)
1 tbsp miso (any type works)
SIDS SALT & PEPPER
For Serving:
Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) (optional, for a spicy kick)

Soak 8 bamboo wooden paddle skewers (15 cm long) in water for 30 minutes. This will help prevent burning while broiling.
Yakitori Sauce:
This sauce recipe makes enough for 2 batches of Tsukune. Combine water, saké, mirin, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a small saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start preparing the Tsukune mixture.
When the sauce has thickened and reduced by half, remove from the heat.
Nami's Tip: The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools and moisture evaporates.
Prepare the Tsukune Ingredients:
Heat an ungreased frying pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add 200 g ground chicken. If your ground chicken package includes both a fatty and lean parts, use the lean part here and reserve the fatty part for later.
Nami's Tip: Precooking some of the meat mixture prevents the meatball from shrinking too much while cooking and keeps the Tsukune juicy.
Cook the meat—without browning it—until no longer pink. While cooking, break it up into small pieces with a wooden spatula. Transfer the cooked meat to a large bowl and let it cool completely.
Stack and roll up 6 shiso leaves, (perilla/ooba) then cut into thin julienned slices.
Cut spring onions into thin slices.
Mix and Knead:
When the cooked ground chicken is completely cooled to room temperature, add the raw ground chicken to it. Then, add miso and toasted sesame oil. Mix well with the wooden spatula.
Three-step collage showing ground meat and seasonings being mixed in a glass bowl: first, crumbled meat is added, then seasonings are poured in, and finally, everything is stirred together with a spatula.
Add the julienned shiso and knead well.
Add the spring onions and knead well.
Spread the mixture around the sides of the bowl with the wooden spatula and then mix. Repeat a few times.
Now, switch to mixing by hand. (you can wear a food-safe disposable glove) Knead and fold the mixture in a clockwise direction 30 times. Then, knead it counterclockwise 30 times. The meat will become pale in colour and sticky. Kneading by hand is very important for the meat to stay on the skewer, so please do not skip this step.
Nami's Tip: If the fat in the mixture starts to look melted, refrigerate it for 10 minutes, then continue kneading until the mixture is pale and sticky.
Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions. Patties that are the same size will cook at the same rate and finish cooking at the same time.
Shape the Tsukune:
Prepare a baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Place an oven-safe wire rack on top and brush it with rice bran oil.
Nami's Tip: Why use a rack? It allows the excess oil from the meat to drip down to the baking sheet while grilling. This way, the meat chars nicely and comes out juicy. To achieve a restaurant-style tsukune, we don‘t want to cook it in a pool of oil.
Lightly coat your hands with sesame oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Scoop up one portion of the chicken mixture.
Toss the meat back and forth for 10 times between your hands to release the air pockets. Then, gently squeeze and shape the meat to form it into a long and oval patty, about 10 cm long.
Flatten the patty a bit. Now, place the top half to two-thirds of a skewer along the center line of the patty. Then, gently close the two sides of the patty around the skewer to encase the stick‘s tip and top part. Seal the edges of the patty together and form it again into a long, cylindrical shape. This shape allows the heat to penetrate the meat quickly.
Gently toss the skewered patty from one hand to the other a few times to make sure the front and back sides are nicely formed. Press and form the meat gently into shape. Do a final check, making sure the skewer is secured in the centre.
Place the finished Tsukune on the prepared wire rack, and shape the remaining Tsukune. Space them apart on the rack and position them so the skewer handles line up along two sides of the rack and the meat points toward the centre. Lightly sprinkle SIDS SALT & PEPPER over the meat.
Uncooked chicken skewers with herbs are arranged on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking tray. In the right image, a hand sprinkles seasoning onto a skewer.
Prepare strips of aluminum foil to cover the skewer handles and keep them from turning black and burning while broiling.
To Grill in the Oven:
Five minutes before cooking, set the oven rack in the middle, about 20 cm away from the heating element, and preheat the grill on HIGH. (290°C) After heating for 5 minutes, place the baking tray in the oven and cook for 6 minutes. Watch the chicken closely while grilling so it doesn‘t burn. If your oven is small/strong, try grilling on MEDIUM (260°C) or lower the rack.
Nami's Tip: When grilling, you can‘t set the exact temperature. You adjust two things—the distance of the rack and the griller settings. (Low, Medium, or High) I usually use High and move the rack closer or farther away from the heating element.
Remove the baking tray from the oven and flip the Tsukune with a pair of tongs. Return it to the oven and grill the other side for 4 minutes, until the chicken‘s internal temperature is 74°C.
When both sides are cooked, brush the yakitori sauce on the meat with a silicone brush. Grill for another 45–60 seconds to caramelize the sauce a bit.
Flip the meat and brush the sauce on the other side. Grill for another 45–60 seconds until sizzling.
To Serve:
Transfer the skewers to a serving plate and brush extra sauce on the meat. Serve immediately. Sprinkle optional shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) for a spicy kick. You can try it dipped in Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise or yuzu kosho, too.
Optionally, Tsukune is often served in Japan with raw egg yolk (which is safe to consume in Japan) on the side for dipping. Enjoy!
To Cook on the Grill: (optional)
Clean and grease the grilling grate. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, about 200°C. Gently place the skewers on the grill and cook until the bottom side is nicely brown, 3–4 minutes. With both a stainless steel spatula and tongs, gently rotate the Tsukune and cook the other side for 2–3 minutes. Turn to the remaining sides where you want to grill more for another 1–2 minutes. To check if it‘s fully cooked, insert a bamboo skewer to see if the juices run clear or check that the chicken‘s internal temperature registers 74°C. Brush with additional yakitori sauce, cook briefly until sizzling, and remove from the heat.
To Store:
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition:
Calories: 65kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 341mg, Potassium: 197mg, Fibre: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 35IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg
Inspired by Namiko Chen at hello@justonecookbook.com