Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
15 mins
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Total Time
35 mins
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Servings
4
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Calories
463 kcal
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Course
Main Course
Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs
Description
Ground chicken is mixed with egg, panko breadcrumbs, minced garlic, sake, and salt to create a seasoned meatball mixture. Only a small amount of the homemade teriyaki sauce is added to the mixture before shaping into heaping tablespoon-sized balls. The meatballs are browned in oil over medium-high heat to build caramelization without completely cooking through.
The remaining teriyaki sauce, made by combining soy sauce, cooking sake, mirin, sugar, cornstarch, and water, is added to the skillet and simmered to thicken. This sauce coats the meatballs with a shiny glaze that balances salty, sweet, and umami flavors. The alcohol from sake and mirin evaporates during cooking, enhancing complexity without raw taste.
The finished meatballs can be served over rice and garnished with sliced green onion and sesame seeds for extra flavor and texture. Baking is an alternative cooking method to preserve shape and reduce mess but pan-searing delivers better browning.
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or cornflour
- 1/4 cup / 65ml soy sauce , all purpose / ordinary (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup / 65ml cooking sake , or sub with Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry (Note 2)
- 1/4 cup / 65ml mirin (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp white sugar (brown also ok)
- ¾ cup / 180 ml water
Meatballs:
- 500 g / 1 lb ground chicken or pork or turkey
- 1 egg (preferably small 50g / 1.4 oz)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or ¾ cup normal breadcrumbs)
- 1 garlic minced, clove
- 1 ½ tsp cooking sake , or sub with Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry (Note 2)
- ½ tsp salt
Cooking:
- 1 tbsp neutral cooking oil generic cooking oil
- green onion for garnish (optional, sliced, aka scallions
- sesame seeds , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Place Meatball ingredients in a bowl.
- Place cornflour in a bowl with 1 tbsp of the water, then mix until lump free. Then add the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar, mix.
- Add 2 tsp of Teriyaki Sauce into the Meatball bowl.
- Add remaining water into the Sauce and mix. Set aside.
- Mix Meatball mixture with your hands. Measure out 1 heaped tablespoon and roll into balls. See Note 3 for tips if mixture is too sticky.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add all the meatballs and cook, rolling to brown all over, for 5 minutes. They will still be a bit raw inside.
- Turn heat down. Give the Sauce a quick mix then add it into the pan. Bring to a simmer then cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until it thickens into a glossy sauce that coats the meatballs.
- Serve over rice, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- Kikkoman soy sauce is used for balanced flavor; a mix of light and dark soy sauce can substitute if unavailable.
- Cooking sake and mirin are rice wines essential for authentic teriyaki flavor; mirin lacks good substitutes, and alcohol evaporates when cooked.
- If chicken mince is wet, refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes, lightly oil hands before shaping, or add breadcrumbs sparingly to manage stickiness.
- Baking meatballs at 180C for 18-20 minutes is possible but may reduce browning; sauce thickness can be adjusted by simmering separately before tossing with cooked meatballs.
- Recipe yields four servings; nutrition estimates per serving are available.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 463 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 251g | |
| Calories | 463cal | 23% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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