Tsukune Miso Nabe Chicken Meatball Hot Pot In Miso Broth Food

TSUKUNE (JAPANESE CHICKEN MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• Add all the Sauce ingredients to a pot and bring it to the boil. Turn down the heat to medium or medium low and simmer for about 4-5 minutes to reduce the quantity by about a third (note 2).
• Add chicken mince, chicken fat and salt in a bowl and mix well until the chicken mince becomes sticky.
• Add the remaining ingredients, except 1 tablespoon of sake, to the bowl and mix well.
• Add the remaining sake to the bowl gradually while mixing. The mixture is quite soft but do not add all of the sake specified if the mixture is too soft to grab by hand and form a ball.
• Boil water in a pot. Coat a cutlery spoon with oil (not in ingredients).
• Grab chicken mince with the left hand (I am a right hander) and squeeze out mince through the thumb and the index finger. The mince will come out forming a round shape (note 3).
• Take the meatball with the spoon and drop it into the pot. Repeat this for the rest of the mince (see the step-by-step photo in post).
• Boil meatballs for 5-7 minutes until cooked through (note 4). Take the meatballs out and put aside. Cook them in batches so that the surface of the boiling water is filled with no more than one layer of the meatballs.
• Heat griller, griddle or BBQ (note 6). Oil the rack/grill where you place the meatballs.
• Thread 3 Tsukune onto flat skewers (note 7).
• Baste tsukune with the sauce using a brush and cook under the griller or on the griddle/BBQ for 1-2 minutes until the meatballs are slightly burnt.
• Turn over the skewers and cook further 1-2 minutes. Then baste with the sauce, cook 30 seconds on both sides.
• Serve immediately.

TSUKUNE MISO NABE (CHICKEN-MEATBALL HOT POT IN MISO BROTH)

Steps:

• Prepare the meatballs: In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs, and knead with your hands until the mix is smooth and shiny. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to shape and cook.
• Prepare the hot pot: Place a large donabe, Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring the dashi to a simmer. Add the mirin and tamari. Whisk in miso. (You can put the miso in a strainer and hold it directly in the broth as you whisk, so it dissolves smoothly.)
• With wet hands, shape the chicken mixture into tablespoon-size balls to make about 30 meatballs, then drop them into the simmering broth. Add the mushrooms and tofu. (If using very delicate tofu, wait and add it with the greens.)
• Bring the broth back up to a simmer, turn the heat down to low, and cover. Simmer gently until all the ingredients are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Add the greens, and cover for 1 more minute, then serve with sesame and togarashi.

CHANKO NABE (SUMO WRESTLER HOT POT)

Steps:

• Soak the konbu in a bowl of water (you will use this water later).
• Bring water (not in ingredients) in a large pot to a boil, add the chicken carcass.
• When it starts boiling again and the surface of the chicken carcass becomes white, drain and rinse the chicken carcass well, removing guts and other brown bits.
• Add the chicken carcass and the konbu to the pot. Add 1000ml / 2.1pt water including the water from the konbu to the pot and bring it to a boil.
• Remove scum and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for minimum 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour. Remove scum occasionally until no more brownish scum comes to the top.
• Put through a sieve. If the amount of broth is less than 750ml / 1.6pt, add water.
• Add all the Chanko Nabe Broth ingredients in a pot and bring it to a boil.
• Turn the heat off and leave until required.
• Bok choy: Remove outer leaves. Cut the central cluster of small leaves vertically to half or quarters depending on the thickness of the cluster. Wash well, particularly at the bottom of the stems where dirt collects. If the outer leaves are large, diagonally cut in half.
• Chinese cabbage: If the leaf and the stem is very wide, halve vertically, then slice leaves diagonally. To diagonally slice, place the stem-end to the left (for a right hander) on the cutting board. Place a knife diagonally tilted to the right and slice the leaf diagonally to 5cm / 2" long pieces, by placing a knife.
• Carrot: Cut a carrot to 5cm / 2" long, then slice vertically to 2-3mm / 1⁄16- ⅛" thick. If the rectangle is very wide, halve it vertically. Alternatively, slice the carrot diagonally.
• Shallot/Scallions: Diagonally cut to 5cm / 2" long.
• Shiitake mushrooms: Remove the stems. To decorate shiitake head (optional), make a shallow V-shape cut in the middle of the head, then another V-shape cut perpendicular to the first cut, making a cross (see the photo in the post).
• Enoki mushrooms: Trim the end of the stems that are woody. If mushrooms are stuck together at the bottom, divide it into smaller bunches.
• Place all the ingredients in a pot (note 3), clustering each ingredient together.
• Add the broth to the pot and heat the pot on a portable stove (note 4).
• Serve with small serving bowls.

CHICKEN MEATBALLS WITH GINGER AND MISO

Steps:

• Combine chicken, egg, panko, scallions, soy sauce, miso paste, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Using your hands, roll mixture into 1" balls, packing firmly. Transfer balls to a rimmed baking sheet or large plate.
• For grilling:
• Divide soy dipping sauce between 2 bowls (half for serving and half for brushing meatballs while cooking). If using wooden skewers, soak 15 minutes. Thread 2 skewers through each meatball, with 2-3 meatballs per pair of skewers.
• Prepare a grill for medium-high, direct heat, or place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Generously oil grates or grill pan. Grill meatballs until light grill marks form, 3-4 minutes. Turn and continue to grill until outside of meatballs are browned, 2 minutes longer.Brush meatballs with sauce, then turn and brush again. Baste and turn until meatballs are glazed and cooked through, about 1 minute more (if they start to burn, reduce heat or move to a cooler part of the grill). Serve with remaining dipping sauce.
• For poaching:
• Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium-low heat; season with salt. Add meatballs and cook, covered, until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• For baking:
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a glass or metal baking dish with oil.
• Roll meatballs in oil until coated. Roast until meatballs are firm and cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted into the center should read 165°F), about 15 minutes.
• Let meatballs cool 5 minutes in baking dish before serving.
• Do Ahead
• Meatballs can be formed, but not cooked, 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill.

MISO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine butter, miso, honey, rice vinegar and black pepper in a large bowl and mix with a spatula or spoon until it is well combined.
• Add chicken to the bowl and massage the miso-butter mixture all over it. Place the chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan and slide it into the oven. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over once or twice, until the skin is golden brown and crisp, and the internal temperature of the meat is 160 to 165 degrees.

CHANKO NABE (SUMO STEW)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients for the Chanko Nabe broth. This 6-inch grater works great for grating ginger and collecting the juice from grating it. In this recipe, we use only the juice of the ginger.
• In a donabe clay pot, Dutch oven, or large pot, combine the chicken broth, sake, mirin, ginger juice, and garlic. Bring it all to a simmer over medium heat.
• Once simmering, transfer several spoonfuls of the broth into a measuring cup or small bowl. Then, add the miso to the measuring cup and stir until smooth and combined.
• Gradually add the miso mixture back into the broth in the pot, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Once you've incorporated the miso, do not let the broth boil. Turn off the heat as soon as the broth starts to simmer and small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot.
• Gather all the meatball ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the chicken, ginger juice, soy sauce, cornstarch, panko, green onion, and half of the beaten egg (reserving the remaining half for another use). Using your hands, mix it all together.
• Once the mixture becomes pale and well combined, shape it into 1-inch (2.5 cm) meatballs. If the mixture is too loose to form meatballs, sprinkle in additional panko, as needed.
• Cut the cod fillet into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks. Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut the sliced pork belly into 2-inch pieces. Trim the visible fat from the chicken thighs and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tofu into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. Separate the napa cabbage leaves and cut them into smaller pieces. Finally, slice the carrot and make flower-shaped cutouts with a vegetable cutter.
• Cut the negi (long green onions) diagonally into 1-inch-thick pieces, cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths, and remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, making a decorative cut on the caps if desired.
• Place all the stew ingredients-the meatballs, seafood, pork belly, chicken, tofu, carrot slices, napa cabbage, negi, green onions, and mushrooms-on platters. Set the platters on the table.
• Pour the ponzu sauce and sesame sauce (goma dare) into individual dipping bowls at each place setting along with chopsticks, a soup spoon (optional), and a soup bowl.
• Set a portable gas burner on the table next to the platters of ingredients. Place the donabe or pot filled with the Chanko Nabe broth on top of the burner. If you don't have a portable gas stove, you can cook the stew on the stovetop, transfer it to a large bowl, and serve it family style. Or, you can bring the pot to the table and enjoy each batch, then return it to the stove to start a new batch.
• Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, add the fish, tofu, tough parts of napa cabbage, negi, carrots, and some mushrooms. You don't have to put all the ingredients in at once; you may cook in batches if you prefer. Cover to cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the fish is cooked. Transfer the cooked food to individual soup bowls. Then, add the meatballs, meat (or more fish), and vegetables to the broth, and cook covered for 10 minutes. Be aware that the vegetables and tofu cook more quickly than the meatballs, seafood, and chicken.
• Keep the broth at a simmer the entire time. If the liquid gets low, add a little water or chicken broth to have enough liquid to heat the noodles or rice at the end. Even though you are thinning the broth, the flavorful ingredients you are cooking continue to enrich it.
• When diners are ready for the final course, remove any solids in the broth and add the rice or precooked udon noodles. Simmer until heated through, then ladle into the soup bowls and serve.
• You can keep the leftovers in the pot or in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. Reheat to enjoy.

TSUKUNE (JAPANESE CHICKEN MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a small pot over low heat. Add 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic; cook and stir until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup tamari, 1/4 cup sake, mirin, brown sugar, and sesame seeds; simmer until glaze is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Combine ground chicken, egg, green onions, carrot, bread crumbs, miso, 2 tablespoons ginger, potato starch, seaweed, 1 tablespoon tamari, 1 tablespoon sake, soy sauce, white sugar, and paprika in a large bowl; mix well into a thick paste, at least 5 minutes.
• Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Roll ground chicken mixture into balls the size of your palm. Flatten them slightly into patties. Grill until well-browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue grilling until browned on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Brush glaze over meatballs before serving.