Tsukune

Ingredients

• 14⅛ ozGround chickenpreferably dark thigh meat, knead with salt until sticky
• 3½ ozOnionfinely chopped or grated and squeezed dry, for juiciness
• 1Spring onion or leek whitefinely chopped, mixed into the meat
• 1Eggwhite binds the mixture, the yolk is served raw for dipping
• 1 tbspStarch, flour or pankobinder; wheat flour, potato starch, glutinous rice flour or panko (up to 40 g) depending on source
• Saltfor seasoning and binding the mixture
• ¼ cupSoy saucebase of the tare glaze, a little also in the meat mixture
• 2 tbspMirinfor gloss and sweetness in the tare
• 2 tbspSakefor the tare
• 2 tbspSugarsweetens the tare and lets it reduce to a syrup
• 1 tbspVegetable oilfor frying, a little also for oiling the hands when shaping
• 1 tbspSesame seedsstirred into the sauce (optional)
• 5¼ ozDaikon radishgrated and mixed with egg yolk as kimi-oroshi (optional)
• 3½ ozMaitake mushroomspan-fried and glazed alongside (optional)
• 2Shiso leaveslaid under the meatballs on the plate (optional)
• Sansho pepperdusted over at the end (optional)
• 1½ tspYuzu or lemon zestfinely grated into the meat mixture (optional)
• Shichimi togarashisprinkled over before serving (optional)
• 1 tspgingergrated into the sauce (optional)

Method

1. Chop the onion and the spring onion or leek white very finely. If you grate the onion instead, squeeze it out well afterwards, or the mixture will be too soft.
2. Put the ground chicken — thigh meat is best — in a bowl with salt and knead it hard until it turns sticky and holds together clearly. This is what keeps the meatballs from falling apart later.
3. Mix in the onion, the spring onion or leek white, the egg white (set the yolk aside), the starch, flour or panko, and a small splash of soy sauce, then keep kneading. Grate in a little yuzu or lemon zest if you like.
4. Divide the mixture and shape it into balls or long ovals with lightly oiled or damp hands. Chill the shaped pieces for 30 minutes so they firm up.
5. For the tare, bring the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar to a boil in a small pan and let it reduce over medium heat until syrupy. Stir in grated ginger and ground sesame seeds if you want them.
6. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook the tsukune over medium heat, turning, until browned outside and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. Maitake mushrooms can be fried alongside.
7. Pour off the excess fat, add the tare to the pan and turn the tsukune in it, or dip them repeatedly, until they are glossy all over.
8. Arrange on shiso leaves, dust with shichimi togarashi or ground sansho pepper and serve with lemon. The raw egg yolk goes alongside as a dip, plain or stirred together with grated daikon as kimi-oroshi.

Tips and variations

There are several ways to cook them: for an especially light, juicy result use plenty of grated onion, poach the tsukune in water first, then fry them with maitake before glazing. Yakitori-style, roll long ovals in glutinous rice flour, steam them, thread them onto skewers and grill over high heat, dipping into the tare every two minutes. And when time is short, pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook them for 5 minutes at 600 W in the microwave. Thigh meat with the skin, or a little chicken fat, gives a juicier mixture than lean breast; in a Western adaptation cider stands in for the sake, with grated ginger alongside. The tare can be made several days ahead — in Japan with coarse zarame sugar.