Tsukune is a Japanese chicken meatball which is usually put on skewers and grilled yakitori style. This tsukune recipe is the home cooked version, so it’s easier to make. You can pack the chicken meatballs in bento boxes with a side of teriyaki sauce or yakitori tare for dipping.

Since it’s almost Halloween, I made Spider Tsukune. If you decide to create the spiders, I think it will be better to eat them right away instead of packing them. The legs (nori) will probably end up soggy or fall off in the boxes. I made my own yakitori tare and put it in a squeeze bottle to decorate the spider web on the plate. If you’re short on time, you can always use your favorite teriyaki sauce. I like to serve tsukune with steamed rice, miso soup, and a small salad.

Ingredients:

10 oz ground chicken
1/4 cup minced onion
1 green onion minced
2 small shiitake mushrooms minced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Salt and Pepper to season
4 tablespoon potato starch to coat chicken

3 inch long thinly cut nori pieces (for spider legs)
small circle nori pieces (for eyes)
toothpicks

Yakitori Tare for dipping (spider web)
2 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon mirin
3 tablespoon sake
1/2 teaspoon potato starch and 2 teaspoon water (to thicken)

You can also use your favorite teriyaki sauce

Makes about 2 to 3 Servings

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Cut nori into 3 inch long thin pieces to create the legs. Fold in half. For the eyes, you can cut out circles or use a hole punch.

Step 2: Make yakitori tare (or use your own sauce). Add soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake in a small pot over medium heat. Let it simmer for a minute then add a little bit of the potato starch water mixture to thicken. When the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and let it cool down.

Step 3: Mince all the vegetables and mushroom. In a large bowl, mix together the ground chicken, onion, green onion, shiitake mushroom, ginger, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to season. Make some of the mixture into 1 inch meatballs (head) and the other into 1 1/2 inch meatballs (body). Lightly coat each meatball with potato starch.

Step 4: Deep Fry for 3 to 4 minutes at 375°F.

Step 5: Use a squeeze bottle with yakitori tare or teriyaki sauce to create a spider web on a plate.

Step 6: Assemble the spider body and head using a toothpick. To stick on the legs, dip part of the leg in teriyaki sauce and glue onto the body. Do the same for the eyes.

This post is tagged bento, chicken, Halloween, Japanese

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