Tsukune Chicken Paste

[helenjp]

Tsukune Chicken Paste

Serves 50 as Hors d'oeuvre.

This chicken meatball paste can be formed around skewers, boiled, used to fill vegetables, or fried/baked in patties between sheets of nori or green perilla leaves.

Go ahead and make the full amount, then freeze the

• g ground chicken
  
• g ground pork
  
• g chicken fat if needed, finely chopped
  
• g sesame seeds, toasted, or finely chopped chicken cartilege from breast
  
• eggs
  
• shiso (green perilla) leaves, finely chopped
  
• g finely grated fresh yama-imo (or 1 sachet dried)
  
• onion, chopped
  
• salt, pepper to taste
  

Soak chopped onion in cold water - chop fairly finely, but allow some texture to remain.

Season meat, and knead well until pasty. Ideally, use ground chicken from the tastier sinewy thigh areas. If the ground chicken is from breast meat, add some chicken fat.

Mix in lightly beaten eggs, shiso leaves, grated yama-imo, sesame, and cartilege if used.

Knead until paste forms one smooth mass.

For skewers:

Keep hands very wet, and form at least 2 tablespoonsful orf mixture around a wide flat skewer, or two skewers used together. Either place on a heated grill or on a greased piece of foil layed over the hot grill. Don't turn until pretty well done, as this mixture is soft.

When nearly done, dip into a narrow jar of yakitori "tare" or dipping sauce (separate recipe)and grill briefly to finish. Repeat the process if you wish.

Alternatively, wrap some mixture in a green shiso leaf or sandwich between two pieces of nori seaweed and fry or grill - good lunchbox fare.

For meatballs:

Have a pot of simmering water with a little soy sauce and mirin in it ready.

Form meatballs with very wet hands and drop into water. Leave for about 1 minute after they rise to the top, and remove with a slotted spoon, drain and cool.

Skewer and dip in "tare" before grilling to finish.

Stuffed peppers:

Halve small Japanese green peppers, remove veins and seeds, fill with mixture and grill, brushing meat with "tare" if desired.

Keywords: Easy, Hors d'oeuvre, Chicken, Japanese

( RG2039 )