Hi
Last time, whenever I had this in the Japanese
restaurant, I used to wonder what made Japanese meatball is so fluffy, soft and
juicy.
Finally I know the answer… it is the TOFU that created that kind of
texture. It’ll get fluffier if the amount
of tofu increased. It is amazing that the
meatball won’t fall apart and instead it’ll make into nice and firm patties. According to Just One Cookbook, if increase
the ratio for tofu, it’ll just become slightly difficult to maintain the shape
of the meatballs.
What I like the most about this dish is
making the teriyaki sauce from scratch.
I think it tastes better than the ready-made teriyaki sauce on the
supermarket shelf.
The meatballs (I made them into patties)
are so juicy and have great flavour.
I served the patties with aglio olio.
My children love it very much. But my hubby didn’t get to taste it as he has been
away for almost 3 weeks. He is currently
in Japan. I believed he must have tasted
the “real” and authentic Japanese Hambagu prepared by the local as compare to
this.
Happy Cooking!
INGREDIENTS
255g Ground
chicken
142g Medium
firm tofu (about 1/3 of the package)
87g Sweet
bell peppers (I used the orange one)
1
Green onion /
scallion (I missed out)
1 inch Ginger (about 1 tsp grated ginger)
1
Egg
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Oil for cooking
Teriyaki Sauce
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
½ tsp potato / corn starch
MEDTHOD
(1)In a small bowl,
whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
(2)Wrap the tofu with
paper towel and let it drain for 15 minutes
(3)Meanwhile, remove
sweet bell pepper seeds under running water and dry completely.
(4)Mince the sweet bell
peppers, chop the green ion finely (I missed this), and grate the ginger.
(5)In a large bowl,
combine ground chicken, sweet bell peppers, and green onion. Break the drained
tofu into small pieces.
(6)Add the egg and
mix all together.
(7)Add the grated
ginger, salt, and black pepper and combine well.
(8)Using two
tablespoons make a small ball. (I made into patty)
(9)Heat the oil in a
non-stick frying pan over medium heat and drop the meatballs, keeping some
distance between each ball. Cook in batches if necessary.
(10)When the bottom is
nicely browned, flip them over and cover with the lid to cook until inside is
no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low heat if browning
too fast.
(11)When the meat is
cooked through, add the first batch back into the pan (if there are any).
(12)Pour the sauce
over and reduce the sauce until it thickens.
(13)Flip the meatballs
to coat both sides with the sauce.
I’m submitting this recipe to Little Thumbs Up
organised by Bake for
Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY. The
April, the theme is Chicken and it is
hosted by The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.