Tokyo-Style Grilled Chicken Dumplings

Name: Tokyo-Style Grilled Chicken Dumplings (Tsukune)
Yield: Serves 6 as an Appetizer, 4 as a Main Course
Cuisine: Japan
Ingredients: 2 ounces chicken fat or fatty bacon (optional; see Note), cut into ½-inch pieces; 1¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces; 1¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces; 1¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces; ¼ teaspoon ground sansho pepper, or ⅛ teaspoon each additional freshly ground black pepper and ground coriander; ¼ teaspoon ground sansho pepper, or ⅛ teaspoon each additional freshly ground black pepper and ground coriander; ¼ teaspoon ground sansho pepper, or ⅛ teaspoon each additional freshly ground black pepper and ground coriander; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 1 egg white; Small flat bamboo skewers; an aluminum foil grill shield (optional, see here); 2 ounces chicken fat or fatty bacon (optional; see Note), cut into ½-inch pieces; 2 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise; 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger; ½ teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper; 1½ teaspoons Coarse salt (kosher or sea); 1½ teaspoons Coarse salt (kosher or sea); 1½ teaspoons Coarse salt (kosher or sea); ½ teaspoon ground coriander

Tsukune

Preparation info

Serves
6
as an Appetizer

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Planet Barbecue

By Steven Raichlen

Published 2010

About

A meal at a Japanese yakitori parlor would be incomplete without a luscious, crusty, intensely flavorful grilled chicken dumpling or meatball called tsukune. In fact, many Japanese grilling aficionados will judge a yakitori bar by its tsukune, and if it is not up to snuff, they won’t bother sticking around to try anything else. (Traditionally, tsukune are grilled on bamboo skewers, but in at least one restaurant—Aburiya Kinnosuke in New York—they cook the dumplings on t

Ingredients

Asia
Japan
Starter
Main course
Gluten-free

Ingredients

Method