The minced-meat star of the yakitori canon: ground chicken kneaded with ginger, egg and sometimes crunchy cartilage, formed onto skewers and grilled with repeated dips in sweet soy tare glaze. The classic izakaya move is dipping each bite in raw egg yolk.
Also known as: tsukune, tsukune skewers, Japanese chicken meatball skewers, yakitori tsukune, tsukune with tare
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 500 g minced chicken thigh
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 spring onions, minced
- 1 egg white
- 2 tbsp panko
- 1 tsp sake
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 60 ml soy sauce, 60 ml mirin, 2 tbsp sake and 1 tbsp sugar, for the tare
- 4 raw egg yolks, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Beat the chicken with ginger, spring onion, egg white, panko, sake and salt until it turns pale and clings to the spoon.
- 2
With wet hands, press the mixture into flattened ovals along skewers, two per stick.
- 3
Simmer the tare ingredients down by a third, until the glaze coats a spoon.
- 4
Grill or broil the skewers 4 minutes per side, then lacquer with tare and flash back over the heat twice more until glossy mahogany.
- 5
Serve each pair with a raw egg yolk for dipping, a spoonful of tare stirred through it.
Pro tip: The izakaya bounce comes from deliberate over-mixing: work the mince a good 3-4 minutes so the proteins spring rather than crumble.
