Tsukune

Ah Girl loves Tsukune sold at Tori Q's. It's a good sign as she isn't very experimental with food. I'm glad that she has taken to Japanese food well. She will ask for Teriyaki Chicken or Salmon or Tsukune repeatedly. And with that, she could eat more. Usually on New Year's day, I will cook Japanese food. We went out on New Year's day, there wasn't enough time to cook O-Zōni (雑煮) or Toshi Koshi Soba (年越面). So instead, I made Chikuzen-Ni (筑前煮) and Tsukune (つくね). These 2 dishes are quite easy to prepare. While Chikuzen-Ni is a typical New Year's day dish (not restricted to), tsukune can be eaten all year round. It is especially popular with children and served as a side dish at drinking sessions. It can be shaped into balls then skewered or it can be pan fried as patties.

For those who requested for the recipe, here's how I make these.

Tsukune (つくね)
Ingredients

For meat balls :
300g Chicken, remove skin and fats, deboned and minced (I used drumsticks, thigh and breast meat)
1/4 White Onion, chopped finely (optional)
2 Eggs, medium sized
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Plain Flour
1 Tbsp Corn Flour
7 tbsp bread crumbs (panko)
1 inch section of ginger, grated and extract juice

For sauce たれ ：
4 Tbsp Sake
5 Tbsp Shoyu
2 Tbsp Mirin
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tsp corn flour
2 Tsp water

Method
1. Soak skewer in water before preparing ingredients.

2. Mix all ingredients for meat balls in a bowl and set aside for 20 minutes.

3. In a pot, add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Wet your hands and shape the meat balls into desired size and drop them into boiling water.

4. Cook for about 7 minutes or when the meatballs float to the surface. Remove and drain.

5. Preheat oven to 200 deg.C. When meatballs are cool to touch, skewer them, 3 to 4 balls in 1 stick. Grill the meatballs, turning them after 4 to 5 minutes. Brush the sauce and grill. Repeat process at least twice. Remove and serve with shichimi (七味) powder or serve as is.

Do give this recipe a try. It's cheaper to make these yourself than buying them. Moreover, you know what exactly you are giving to your children.

Happy Cooking～～ じゃね～～