Ingredients

Chicken Balls

• 300g chicken mince
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp saké
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp shoyu

Cooking Stock: (optional)

• 5 cm piece of Kombu (giant sea kelp)

Sauce

• 400ml dashi (see recipe)
• 100ml sake
• 50ml mirin
• 75ml shoyu soy sauce
• 30g corn flour

To Serve

• 2 tsp of ginger, peeled and shredded

Method

1. Chicken Balls: Place all the chicken ball ingredients in a food processor and blend them together until they are smooth or blend them together in a mortar and pestle. The mixture will be runny unlike European style ball. Place the mixture in a bowl. Wet your hands in water and take small amounts of the mixture at a time and make small balls until you have used all the mixture. You should have 24-30 balls. Set aside until ready to cook (refrigerate if preparing in advance.
2. Cooking Stock: Place the Kombu (optional) in a large saucepan filled with water. Bring the water to the boil, then reduce it to a gentle simmer (this step is optional and is not necessary if you aren't using the kombu).
3. To Prepare: Bring water or cooking stock to a strong simmer in a large saucepan. Cook the balls for 7-8 minutes, and drain them. If preparing the balls for yakitori cool the balls and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Sauce: Place the dashi, sake, mirin and soy sauce in a saucepan and bring it to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Mix the corn flour with around 50 ml of water, stir this into the sauce. Stir the sauce for a couple of minutes until just thickened. Add the chicken balls to the sauce and cook them for 3-4 minutes so that they are heated through.
5. To Serve: Serve the chicken balls in bowls garnished with a little shredded ginger.