🍢 Yakitori tsukune (chicken meatball skewers)
Tsukune are minced chicken meatballs or patties grilled on skewers and glazed with sweet, savoury tare sauce. They are soft and juicy inside with a sticky, lightly charred surface. At yakitori bars they are often served with a raw egg yolk on the side: each bite is dipped into the yolk, which coats the meat in a rich, silky layer.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g chicken meatball mixture (minced chicken, seasoned)
- 1 scallion, finely chopped, if desired
- 80 ml tare sauce
- 2 fresh egg yolks
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes
Method
- With wet hands, shape the mixture into small oval meatballs or long patties and press onto skewers.
- Brush lightly with oil and grill over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes per side until cooked through.
- Brush with tare and grill 1 minute more; repeat once.
- Serve each portion with an egg yolk in a small dish for dipping.
How to make it lighter
- Use minced chicken breast in the mixture for a leaner meatball.
- Skip the egg yolk dip or share one between two people — one large yolk is about 55 kcal.
- Pair 2 skewers with a cabbage or cucumber salad to make a fuller plate.
History
Tsukune comes from the verb tsukuneru, "to knead into shape", and kneaded fish or meat balls were known in Japanese cooking long before yakitori bars. The chicken version became a fixture of yakitori menus in the 20th century, and serving it with an egg yolk for dipping is now a popular house style in many shops.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →