Japanese sauce gives your regular meatballs an upgrade you won't regret.

Japanese Style Chicken Meatballs

Recipe by Chef Kaku (Wasan Brooklyn)

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 3 people

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1/2 lb Chicken Thigh (no skin)
  • 4 oz Canned Water Chestnut
  • 1 tsp Soy Sauce (Preferably Koikuchi) *1
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 Tbsp Scallion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Ginger, minced
  • 2 Tbsp Katakuri Powder (Potato Starch) *2
  • 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Sesame Seed

Sauce

  • 6 Tbsp Mirin *3
  • 4 Tbsp Sake
  • 4 Tbsp Water
  • 1.5 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Preferably Koikuchi) *1
  • 1.5 tsp Sugar

Instructions

  1. Mince water chestnuts using a food processor.

  2. Cut chicken thigh to cubes. Grind them in food processor.

  3. In a bowl, mix ground chicken, minced water chestnut, soy sauce, salt, and egg. Add ginger, scallions and katakuri powder.

  4. Boil 8 cups of water.

  5. Make meatballs and boil them for about 5 minutes.

  6. Once the meatballs are done, strain them and put them aside.

  7. Mix sauce ingredients in a pot and add meatballs.

  8. Simmer until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.

  9. Pour sesame oil and spring sesame seed to taste.

Recipe Notes

*1 Learn the difference between "koikuchi (dark)" and "usukuchi (light)" soy sauces.  
*2 Katakuri Powder (potato starch) can be substituted with Corn Starch
*3 Mirin can be substituted with Sake and Sugar, 4:1 ratio