Simmered Chicken Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs) (Wheat-Free)
鶏ひき肉のつくね煮（小麦なし） · Tori Hikiniku no Tsukune Ni
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Tsukune are Japanese chicken meatballs, and in this version they are simmered in a dashi broth seasoned with just a little sugar and soy sauce instead of being grilled. Finely chopped carrot and onion go right into the mixture, so children get their vegetables without noticing, and the meatballs stay soft and easy to chew. Kneading the ground chicken with potato starch until it turns sticky is what holds them together, and shaping them with a spoon straight into the simmering broth keeps things quick and tidy. The gentle broth makes this an easy dish to serve alongside rice.
Wheat-free, but uses soy sauce (made with wheat). Japanese school-lunch allergy menus usually allow it, so check with your doctor. How to read the labels
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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
- 12 gcarrot
- 24 gonion
- 82.5 gground chicken
Seasonings
- 0.6 gginger paste (tube)Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- 0.1 gsalt
- to tastepepper
- 3.8 gpotato starch (katakuriko)Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
- 90 gdashi stockJapanese soup stock, usually made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or bonito flakes; the base of most Japanese soups and simmered dishes. Substitute: Instant dashi granules dissolved in water, or a mild unsalted chicken or vegetable stock.
- 2.4 gsugar
- 3 gsoy sauce
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- ginger paste (tube) (しょうがチューブ)
- Grated ginger sold ready to use in a squeeze tube, a staple in Japanese kitchens. Japanese school lunch kitchens grate fresh ginger for its aroma, but for cooking at home Aoi says the tube works just fine. Tube pastes often contain added salt, oil and other ingredients, so check the label. Substitute: Use freshly grated ginger in the same amount. 1 teaspoon of paste is about 5 g.
- potato starch (katakuriko) (かたくり粉)
- Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
- dashi stock (だし汁)
- Japanese soup stock, usually made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or bonito flakes; the base of most Japanese soups and simmered dishes. Substitute: Instant dashi granules dissolved in water, or a mild unsalted chicken or vegetable stock.
Directions
- 1
Finely mince the carrot and onion.
- 2
Add the vegetables, ginger paste, salt, pepper and potato starch to the ground chicken and knead well until the mixture becomes sticky.
- 3
Add the sugar and soy sauce to the dashi stock and bring to a boil, then shape the mixture into balls with a spoon, drop them into the broth and simmer well until cooked through.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 178.5 kcal | 357 kcal | 178.5 kcal |
| Protein | 15.5 g | 30.9 g | 15.5 g |
| Fat | 9.9 g | 19.8 g | 9.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g | 18 g | 9 g |
| Fiber | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 0.9 g |
| Calcium | 18 mg | 36 mg | 18 mg |
| Iron | 0.6 mg | 1.2 mg | 0.6 mg |
| Potassium | 351 mg | 702 mg | 351 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 178.5 kcal | 15.5 g | 9.9 g | 9 g | 0.6 g | 0.9 g | 18 mg | 0.6 mg | 351 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 357 kcal | 30.9 g | 19.8 g | 18 g | 1.2 g | 1.8 g | 36 mg | 1.2 mg | 702 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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