Tsukune (Japanese style turkey meatballs)

This recipe is inspired and adapted from my lovely friend @YuiMiles Tsukune Japanese style chicken meatballs recipe. I saw Yui and Emily make this on Instagram live on IGTV recently.
It is often thought that Tsukune (つくね) is Japanese chicken meatballs. However this is not true as the word Tsukune is a generic name for Japanese-style meatballs. The minced meat does not have to be chicken, it could with any mince meat such as pork or even fish. These are typically cooked over a yakitori grill.
The key to this dish is the flavourings. The sweet glaze or sauce flavour is made by coating the meatballs generously in a sauce that is made of soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
At the time I didn't have any mince meat so I did not make it. This is more often made with chicken mince but today I had mince turkey as I could not find any mince chicken. I didn't have all the ingredients so I modified the recipe with the ingredients I had at home.
I served mine with steamed Japanese rice and tamagoyaki egg. This can also be served with a salad instead or anything you wish. These make a great light lunch, snack or even party food.
I hope you enjoy making and eating this as much as we do.
#Tsukune
#Japanesestylemeatballs
#turkeyminceballs
#Japanesecuisine
#Japanesefood
Tsukune (Japanese style turkey meatballs)
This recipe is inspired and adapted from my lovely friend @YuiMiles Tsukune Japanese style chicken meatballs recipe. I saw Yui and Emily make this on Instagram live on IGTV recently.
It is often thought that Tsukune (つくね) is Japanese chicken meatballs. However this is not true as the word Tsukune is a generic name for Japanese-style meatballs. The minced meat does not have to be chicken, it could with any mince meat such as pork or even fish. These are typically cooked over a yakitori grill.
The key to this dish is the flavourings. The sweet glaze or sauce flavour is made by coating the meatballs generously in a sauce that is made of soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
At the time I didn't have any mince meat so I did not make it. This is more often made with chicken mince but today I had mince turkey as I could not find any mince chicken. I didn't have all the ingredients so I modified the recipe with the ingredients I had at home.
I served mine with steamed Japanese rice and tamagoyaki egg. This can also be served with a salad instead or anything you wish. These make a great light lunch, snack or even party food.
I hope you enjoy making and eating this as much as we do.
#Tsukune
#Japanesestylemeatballs
#turkeyminceballs
#Japanesecuisine
#Japanesefood
Steps
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, place the mince meat along with the onion, garlic, ginger, spring onions, breadcrumbs, sesame oil, light soya sauce, honey, mirin and flour together. Using rubber gloves or chopsticks mix all of the ingredients together until well incorporated. Cover bowl with cling film and set aside for about 30 minutes to let the marinade infuse into the meat.
- 2
Once the meat has had time to marinade, prepare a baking tray or plate. Grab a small amount of meat (bite size) and roll into a ball shape. Repeat this until all of the meat has been used. Roughly makes 15 meatballs, so each skewer will have 3 pieces of meat on.
- 3
In a flat pan (either using big or small depending on how many your cooking), on medium heat add the oil. Add the meat balls and cook for a few minutes until lightly coloured. Then turn over to colour other side and then on both sides to brown. Keep continuously turning the meat balls to ensure the meat cook and colours evenly. Tip: if not cooking all at once separate the batches. The uncooked meatballs can be placed into a food container/freeze bag and be stored in the fridge/freezer.
- 4
Once the meat is fully cooked through, remove from the pan and transfer onto a plate or baking tray. Let the meat rest for a few minutes. Then poke the bamboo skewers into the meat balls (3 meatballs per skewer). Tip: I learnt this trick from Yui, to skewer the meat after its cooked, so the meat doesn't fall off during the cooking process.
- 5
Using the same pan turn the heat to low and add the meatball glaze ingredients. Using a wooden spoon stir the sauce to ensure that the honey or sugar dissolves. Taste the glaze and adjust as necessary (add more sugar, soya sauce, water, mirin etc).
- 6
Once the glaze begins to thicken slightly and bubble, turn the heat to very low. Then place the skewered meatballs back into pan. Using a wooden spoon, generously cover the meatballs with the glaze all over. Let the meatballs soak in the glaze for a few minutes.
- 7
Once ready to serve, place the meatballs either on a serving plate and pour the glaze over. Or in a serving bowl, place the steamed rice at the bottom, place the meatballs skewers on top and drizzle over some of the glaze over the meat to soak into the rice. Then garnish with sesame seeds and Japanese chilli powder. Serve with a side of tamagoyaki egg, greens or pickled vegetables to cut through the sweetness.
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