Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
For 35 meatballs
- 500g (1 lb) ground chicken (or turkey)
- 3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
- 2 green onion stems, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
For the yakitori-style sauce (quantity for appetizers, see end of article)
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce (75ml)
- 4 tablespoons mirin (60ml)
- 4 tablespoons water (or sake)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or honey)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- 2 green onion stems, sliced, for serving
- Mix the ground meat with the breadcrumbs, green onion, egg, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce in a bowl. Let rest for at least half an hour in the refrigerator, then form walnut-sized meatballs.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, mix all the sauce ingredients, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and continue cooking for 20 minutes. The sauce will become thick and glossy as it cools.
- In a skillet, heat a little vegetable oil and brown the meatballs on each side (3-4 minutes per side), then pour in the sauce and toss to glaze (coat) the meatballs.
- Garnish with sliced green onion and serve with plain rice.
Tips
- The sauce quantities indicated are sufficient to coat the meatballs and serve them as appetizers without dripping everywhere. If you want to serve them as a main dish with extra sauce for your rice, you’ll need to double the quantities.
- For a smooth filling, I blend the green onion, ginger, and garlic in a mini food processor before adding them to the mixture. This makes them finer than knife-minced.
- This sauce is a blend of teriyaki and yakitori sauces. For a classic yakitori sauce, omit the ginger and garlic (which are part of teriyaki sauce). For an even thicker sauce, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch barely diluted to avoid lumps.
If you like Japanese meatballs, you should love the beef version.