Japanese Chicken Meatballs (Tsukune)

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Chicken meatballs called tsukune are a Japanese-restaurant favorite—they’re essentially a chicken sausage mixture flavored with garlic and ginger. Use flat sword-shaped skewers instead of traditional round bamboo skewers to keep the meatballs from slipping when you try to turn them. Serve with bowls of steamed rice on the side.

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Ingredients

  • Chicken Meatballs
  • 2 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or 93%-lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs or Japanese panko breadcrumbs (see Tips)
  • 1 large egg white
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion whites
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • Sweet Soy Glaze
  • 1/4 cup mirin (see Note) or cream sherry
  • 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • Kebabs
  • 18 scallions, trimmed
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted (To toast chopped nuts or seeds, cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.)

Preparation

Step 1

1. To prepare meatballs: Place shiitakes in a small bowl; cover with boiling water and let soak for 45 minutes. Drain the mushrooms. Remove and discard the stems; finely chop the caps. Combine the chopped caps, ground chicken (or turkey), breadcrumbs, egg white, scallion whites, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, honey, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Gently mix and squeeze until well combined. Use a generous 2 tablespoons each to shape the mixture into 24 meatballs. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day

2. To prepare glaze: Combine mirin (or sherry), soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar and ginger in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the cornstarch-water mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, 2 to 5 minutes.

3. To prepare kebabs: Preheat half to two-thirds of a gas grill to medium-high (1 burner if you have a 2-burner grill; 2 burners on a 3-burner grill) or build a medium-high-heat fire on one side of a charcoal grill.

4. Thread the meatballs onto flat metal skewers, 4 per skewer. Oil the grill rack (see Tips). Grill the kebabs over direct heat, turning once, until marked, 5 to 6 minutes per side. (If you try to turn the kebabs too early, the meatballs will stick to the grill. Let them cook for a minute or two longer before turning so the meat will release from the grill.) Move the kebabs to the unlit side. Brush the tops with the glaze and grill for 2 minutes. Turn the kebabs over, brush with more glaze and grill for about 2 minutes more. Remove to a clean large serving platter; tent with foil to keep warm.

5. Grill scallions over direct heat, lightly brushing them with some of the glaze and turning frequently so the glaze doesn’t burn, until tender-crisp and with a few char marks, 2 to 3 minutes total. Transfer to the platter.

6. Drizzle the kebabs with any leftover glaze and sesame oil; sprinkle with sesame seeds

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