Chicken Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs) (Egg-Free)
鶏つくね（卵なし） · Tori Tsukune
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Tsukune are Japanese chicken meatballs, a favorite at yakitori restaurants and in bento boxes alike. This preschool version skips the egg and uses panko and skim milk to keep the patties soft and tender, so they are easy for little mouths to bite through. Instead of pan-frying, the tsukune are baked in the oven, which makes it simple to cook a whole batch at once, and a quick sweet soy glaze brushed on at the end gives them that familiar teriyaki-style flavor children take to right away.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 82.5 gground chicken
- 18 ggreen onion (naga negi)Japanese long onion, thicker and milder than Western scallions. Substitute: Scallions or the white part of a leek.
Seasonings
- 9 gpanko
- 2.7 gskim milk powderMilk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
- 10.5 mlwater
- 0.2 gsalt
- to tastepepper
- 1.2 gsoy sauce
- 0.8 gsugar
- 1 gmirinMirin is a sweet Japanese rice seasoning that adds gentle sweetness and a glossy finish. Hon-mirin (true mirin) contains about 14% alcohol; "mirin-style seasoning" has little or no alcohol. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: For each tablespoon of mirin, use 1 tablespoon water plus 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar.
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- green onion (naga negi) (ねぎ)
- Japanese long onion, thicker and milder than Western scallions. Substitute: Scallions or the white part of a leek.
- skim milk powder (スキムミルク)
- Milk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
- mirin (みりん)
- Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice seasoning that adds gentle sweetness and a glossy finish. Hon-mirin (true mirin) contains about 14% alcohol; "mirin-style seasoning" has little or no alcohol. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: For each tablespoon of mirin, use 1 tablespoon water plus 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar.
Directions
- 1
Finely mince the green onion.
- 2
Add the green onion from step 1, the panko, the skim milk powder dissolved in lukewarm water, and the salt and pepper to the ground chicken, and knead until the mixture becomes sticky.
- 3
Shape the mixture from step 2 into small hamburger-style patties, arrange them on a baking sheet, and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for about 20 minutes.
- 4
Combine the soy sauce, sugar, and mirin in a small saucepan and bring to a brief boil to make the glaze, then brush it over the baked tsukune from step 3.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 195 kcal | 390 kcal | 195 kcal |
| Protein | 17.1 g | 34.2 g | 17.1 g |
| Fat | 10.2 g | 20.4 g | 10.2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 10.4 g | 20.7 g | 10.4 g |
| Fiber | 1 g | 2.1 g | 1 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 45 mg | 90 mg | 45 mg |
| Iron | 0.8 mg | 1.5 mg | 0.8 mg |
| Potassium | 310.5 mg | 621 mg | 310.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 195 kcal | 17.1 g | 10.2 g | 10.4 g | 1 g | 0.6 g | 45 mg | 0.8 mg | 310.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 390 kcal | 34.2 g | 20.4 g | 20.7 g | 2.1 g | 1.2 g | 90 mg | 1.5 mg | 621 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
Ingredients in this recipe
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