Tsukune Chicken Meatballs are tender, flavorful Japanese chicken skewers made with ground chicken, miso paste, sesame oil, fresh shiso leaves, and scallions. Finished with a savory-sweet yakitori glaze, these Japanese chicken meatballs are a delicious appetizer, party snack, or main dish served alongside rice and vegetables.
Tsukune is a popular Japanese dish often served at yakitori restaurants. Unlike traditional round meatballs, this recipe shapes the chicken mixture into elongated patties around skewers. The combination of miso and sesame oil adds savory depth, while shiso leaves provide a distinctive herbal flavor and scallions bring freshness.
One of the most interesting steps in this homemade tsukune recipe is cooking one-third of the ground chicken before mixing it with the remaining raw chicken. After cooling the cooked portion, combine both portions with miso paste, sesame oil, sliced shiso leaves, and scallions. Knead the mixture thoroughly until it becomes sticky enough to hold its shape on the skewers.
Before assembling the meatballs, soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes. Shape the chicken mixture into oval patties approximately three to four inches long, then carefully insert the skewers.
A set of flat metal skewers on Amazon is a useful reusable alternative to bamboo skewers for preparing chicken tsukune.
Arrange the skewers on a lightly greased oven-safe rack and broil for six minutes. Turn them over, broil for another four minutes, then brush with yakitori tare or teriyaki sauce. Broil briefly to set the glaze. Always confirm the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F before serving.
Pair these Japanese chicken meatballs with crunchy Asian Coleslaw or flavorful Stir-Fried Soba Noodles. For another Asian-inspired meatball dish, try our Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs.
With their tender texture, fragrant seasonings, and glossy glaze, Tsukune Chicken Meatballs bring Japanese restaurant-style flavor to your home kitchen.
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Tsukune – Chicken Meatballs
- Total Time: :51
- Yield: 14 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp miso paste
- 10 Shiso leaves
- 4 green onions/scallions
- Kosher salt
- ½ cup Yakitori Tare or Teriyaki sauce
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.
- Pile and roll up the shiso leaves, then cut into thin julienne slices. Cut the scallion into thin slices.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add ⅓ of ground chicken and break it up into small pieces using a wooden spatula. Cook until no longer pink and transfer to a plate to let it cool.
- Combine the cooked chicken and uncooked chicken in a large bowl and mix well with rubber spatula.
- Add sesame oil and miso and mix well.
- Add the scallions and shiso leaves and combine well with silicone spatula.
- Now with your hand, knead 30 times clockwise. Then knead counterclockwise 30 times. The meat will become more pale in color and sticky. This part is very important for the meat to stay on stick so please do not skip this step.
- Grease the grill rack with brush. I use a roasting pan and rack as it can support the skewers very well while the excess oil drips down to the bottom of roasting pan when cooking.
- Lightly coat your hands with sesame oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Scoop a handful of the chicken mixture and form into a round patty.
- Toss the meat to left and right hands to release the air pockets and gently squeeze to form the meat into a long oval patty, about 3-4 inches in length. Insert the skewer on the prepared wire rack.
- Lightly sprinkle salt over the chicken skewers.
- Put aluminum foil around the skewers to prevent them from burning.
- Preheat the oven to High Broil (550F) for 5 minutes. Broil in the middle rack, for 6 minutes. Then flip the skewers over and broil more for 4 minutes.
- When both sides are cooked, brush the yakitori sauce on the meat and broil for another 30 seconds. Transfer the skewers to a serving plate and brush the extra sauce on the meat.
Notes
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Meatball Tips
- Be Gentle – If meatballs are packed too tightly and compactly, they’ll turn out tough, rubbery, and chewy. Oil your hands so that the mixture won’t stick to them and gently and quickly form the meatballs.
- Keep Things Cold – You want to keep the fat from melting and breaking down before you cook the meatballs, so keep your meat and ingredients as cold as possible. Make the mixture in a chilled bowl, and if you are adding precooked ingredients like onions, let them cool down completely before adding them in.
- Prep Time: :40
- Cook Time: :11
- Cuisine: Asian
This recipe combines ground chicken with miso paste, sesame oil, shiso leaves, and scallions. The shaped chicken skewers are broiled and finished with yakitori tare or teriyaki sauce.
Yes, although the flavor will change. Shiso has a distinctive herbal taste, so omitting it will produce a milder meatball. Scallions and miso will still provide plenty of flavor.