Japanese Meatballs, #SundaySupper
Cooking Japanese food for a Jersey boy can be challenging. No azuki bean paste. Definitely no dried squid. Classic American chicken and rib roasts were standard fare in my husband, David’s childhood. Fish was the primary protein during my upbringing in Tokyo. Once in a while Japanese tsukune chicken meatballs were served. Familiar flavors of scallions, soy sauce, ginger and garlic accented the Japanese chicken meatballs.
Fellow ASIJ (American School in Japan) teens also munched on the meatballs alongside illegal beers! (Japanese restaurants are stricter in the millennium about serving only to those who are adults.) After an ASIJ basketball game or theatre rehearsal, we’d go to a yakitori or ramen shop. (Yakitori are bits of chicken skewered on a skinny stick. Think Japanese shish kebab.) Japanese tsukune chicken meatballs are often served at yakitori restaurants.
