Thick meatballs with teriyaki sauce
4 servings
45 minutes
Dense meatballs with teriyaki sauce are a true delight of Japanese cuisine. Their base is tender minced meat mixed with potatoes, breadcrumbs, and cream that create softness and juiciness. Fried to a golden crust, the meatballs soak up the rich sweet-salty teriyaki sauce balanced with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a light caramel sweetness of sugar. The tradition of adding teriyaki dates back to ancient Japan where this cooking method was used to give dishes a special glossy shine. These miniature meatballs pair perfectly with rice or noodles, creating a harmony of flavors. Their rich, intense, slightly smoky aroma makes them a desirable treat on any table while their texture surprises – soft inside and slightly crispy outside. This dish is a true ode to the simplicity and depth of Japanese gastronomy.
1
First, finely chop the onion. You can use white or red, whichever you prefer. Then sauté it in vegetable oil until golden.
- Onion: 25 g
2
Next, we take the pre-cooked potatoes and mash them well into a puree.
- Potato: 85 g
3
We add breadcrumbs and a tablespoon of water. Next, our fried onion.
- Breadcrumbs: 25 g
- Onion: 25 g
4
Crack an egg into a bowl and beat it with a fork. Add it to the main bowl.
- Chicken egg: 1 piece
5
Next, we add the minced meat.
- Minced meat: 300 g
6
Carefully pour in the cream. It's important to monitor the consistency and add them gradually. We should have a soft filling. It's best to put it in the fridge for an hour. Then it will be easier to work with. But you can start right away too. Salt and pepper to taste, I didn't add anything because the Teriyaki sauce played its role.
- Cream 20%: 100 g
- Soy sauce: 80 ml
- Rice vinegar: 80 ml
- Sugar: 50 g
7
Need to make very small balls (size smaller than a walnut). Roll a ball, coat it in flour, shake off the excess, and place it on the board.
- Sake: 2 tablespoons
8
Fry in a large amount of vegetable oil. You can try baking, but that's up to you. Once a golden crust appears, remove the meatballs and add a new batch. It's better to fry in small portions so that the meatballs fry rather than stew. The small size is just right for the meatballs to cook through and not be raw inside with a hard crust outside.
9
Place the cooked meatballs on a plate lined with paper to let excess fat drain off. We will prepare a teriyaki-style sauce. It's simple here. We need soy sauce, 6% rice vinegar, sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of sake (optional). If you don't have rice vinegar or mirin, it's better not to make the sauce or buy a ready-made one. You can replace sugar with honey or sweet syrup.
- Soy sauce: 80 ml
- Rice vinegar: 80 ml
- Sugar: 50 g
- Sake: 2 tablespoons
10
We heat our future sauce in a saucepan over high heat. Then we simply reduce it to a thicker consistency. To speed things up, we can help ourselves. For this, we mix a tablespoon of starch with a couple of tablespoons of water in a small bowl. We mix smoothly and pour the liquid into the sauce, stirring constantly.
- Cornstarch: 2 tablespoons
11
Don't forget that the sauce will thicken even more as it cools. You can transfer all the meatballs into the sauce and mix well. Serve with pasta, rice, or other grains.