Chicken & Pork Meatballs 'Fried Tsukune' つくね

The Tsukune come from Japan, it combines grounded ingredientsn they are shaped into small balls before cooking. They are often made of chicken and grilled on skewers as yakitori. In my recipe I combine chicken and pork for tender meatballs.

What makes these dish so special to my taste is the sauce, it is called tare (垂れ) in Japanese. It is both sweet and salty, its appearance is thick and viscous. It contains soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. I encourage you to cook the meatballs a few minutes in this sauce, before serving baste them with it too, and keep some for your guests to add in their plate. The sauce will also be great on your short grain rice.

If you prefer, you can of course use only chicken meat. In Japan, making and tasting chicken yakitori shows a profound refinement; everything counts: variety and choice of meat, cooking, sauce. Now it's up to you to make your own tsukune skewers. Bon appétit.