Fried Chicken Balls Simmered in Dark Sauce

Name: Fried Chicken Balls Simmered in Dark Sauce (Tsukuné Agé Ni )
Yield: Makes 18–20 Meatballs.
Cuisine: Japan
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon poppy seeds, optional; ¼ cup soy sauce; ¼ cup mirin (syrupy rice wine); Vegetable oil (for hands, for deep frying); ¼ cup dashi (Basic Soup Stock); Pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon Sendai miso (dark bean paste); 1 teaspoon cornstarch; 2–3 tablespoons very finely minced onion; ¼ teaspoon ginger juice, extracted from peeled and grated fresh ginger; ¾ pound ground uncooked chicken

Tsukuné Agé Ni

Preparation info

Makes
18–20
Meatballs.

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

At Home with Japanese Cooking

By Elizabeth Andoh

Published 1986

About

This is an unusually seasoned meatball dish that makes a particularly nice appetizer or hors d’oeuvre, a pleasant change from Swedish meatballs at a buffet. The meatballs can be fried in advance and frozen for up to three weeks. Be sure to let them thaw completely at room temperature, though, before simmering in the dark sauce.

Ingredients

¾ pound ground uncooked chicken
¼ teaspoon ginger juice, extracted from peeled and grated fresh ginger</

Asia
Japan
Starter

Method

In a bowl, season the ground chicken with the ginger juice, bean paste, salt and onion. Mix well, then sprinkle the cornstarch over the soft mixture and let it stand for a few moments before mixing again. Lightly oil your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking to them and form 18–20 little meatba