These soft and juicy teriyaki chicken meatballs are going to be your family’s favorite! It takes only 30 minutes to prepare.
These Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs are soft and fluffy, and my kids love them! What’s the secret ingredient to make them so fluffy? It’s tofu!
Watch How to Make Chicken Meatballs 豆腐ハンバーグの作り方
(* Please Note: In Japan we call this dish “Tofu Hambagu”. To avoid misleading the vegetarian readers, I decided to simply call it chicken meatballs.)
Actually in Japan, we call this dish Tofu Hambagu (豆腐ハンバーグ) – “hambagu” as in Japanese Hamburger Steak. However, most of tofu hambagu are made with tofu AND ground meat (usually chicken, sometimes combination of beef & pork). To avoid misleading the vegetarian readers, I decided to simply call it chicken meatballs (with tofu, as the secret ingredient).
Why tofu? It’s because tofu makes the meatball texture very fluffy and soft. These teriyaki meatballs are especially great for all ages including toddlers and elders! If you increase the amount of tofu, it gets even fluffier and less calorie! My proportion for meat and tofu in this recipe is pretty easy to form into meatballs. As you increase the ratio for tofu, it might become slightly difficult to maintain the round shape.
And please note that the meat acts as binding agent here. As you knead the meat, it gets stickier and helps bind tofu and other ingredients very well.
Today I used colorful sweet bell peppers to add some color to these meatballs. You can add your choice of vegetables but don’t put too much in order to maintain the fluffiness.
Lastly, look at the delicious glaze on the meatballs! The sauce is everyone’s favorite, Teriyaki Sauce. If you cook Japanese food often, you noticed that we often use the same condiments – soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake (I didn’t use it for this recipe). It’s very common to season Japanese food with these condiments (just slightly different ratios).
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- 14 oz ground chicken (14 oz = 400 g)
- 5 oz medium firm tofu (5 oz = 142 g, about 1/3 of 14-oz package)
- 1½ sweet bell peppers (1½ peppers = 3 oz, 87 g) (I used 3 colors)
- 1 green onion/scallion
- 1 inch ginger (1" ginger = about 1 tsp of grated ginger)
- 1 large egg
- salt (kosher or sea salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- ½ tsp potato/corn starch
Gather all the ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
- Wrap the tofu with paper towel and let it drain for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, remove sweet bell pepper seeds under running water and dry completely.
- Mince the sweet bell peppers, chop the green onion finely, and grate the ginger.
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, sweet bell peppers, and green onion. Break the drained tofu into small pieces.
- Add the egg and mix all together.
- Add the grated ginger, salt, and black pepper and combine well.
- Using two tablespoons or a cookie scoop, make a small ball.
- 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.
- 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.
- When the meat is cooked through, add the first batch back into the pan (if there are any).
- Pour the sauce over and reduce the sauce until it thickens. Flip the meatballs to coat both sides with the sauce.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
These look great! You’ve inspired me to make some sort of tofu “meat”ball with a vegetarian binding ingredient…delicious!
This is an excellent idea, Nami. I have never thought of adding tofu on my meatballs. I have some tofu and ground meat in hand. I am going to give this a try. Looks delicious.
I love the addition of the tofu. It must help to make it moist without the addition of bread–gluten free!
Hi Donna! Yes, tofu makes it moist and fluffy – I love tofu hambagu! 🙂
Wow, I really like this recipe! The idea of adding tofu to meat balls is brilliant! I’m so going to use this. Such a pretty dish — thanks so much.
This is so interesting, Nami! My son loves meat and also loves tofu. I am so glad to know it’s a secret ingredient to making fluffy meatballs. I just made chicken teriyaki with brown rice for tonight’s dinner. These meatballs would be a very fun, delicious twist.
That’s easy, and looks awesome Nami! Perfect looking pancakes. I am so intrigued by tofu that you have added. A must try.
I like the use of tofu in this dish! I recently added tofu to creamed soups and was pleasantly surprised! Now I can add them when I make meatballs too.
Nami, these chicken meatballs look delicious with all the veggies in it, somehow I never got around in using chicken when coming to meatballs…thank you for the inspiration.
Hope you are having a lovely week 😀
Hi Nami,
Just watch this chicken meat balls video clip. Love, love it!
Love the addition of tofu in the meatballs too. Yum! I am going to cook this for dinner tonight!
mui
Hi Doreen! Thanks so much for watching the video! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
These look so good, Nami! I’d love them for dinner tonight!
Oh sneaky, love that you added tofu! They do look fluffy, and really delicious! What a great recipe, hubby would love this one for sure! Hugs, Terra
My mouth is watering! Whoa! So delicious, for real! Perfect!!! Making it over weekend 🙂
I have tried tofu in meat patties and love the moisture it adds. So funny, I just made turkey meatballs tonight in a sweet and sour sauce. I’ll have to give your recipe a try next time!
Tofu and chicken – that’s interesting. I didn’t realize that tofu can be used to improve the texture of chicken meatballs, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. Chicken meatballs can be so dry at times so this sounds like a great solution because these meatballs don’t look dry at all. I LOVE that sauce!! Thanks for sharing this Nami!
Love the combo ~ have never made meatballs quite this way and shall certainly try 🙂 ! Use tofu most days and adding chicken appeals greatly!!!!
Thanks so much Eha! If you have never added tofu to chicken meatballs, you might enjoy the different texture. So fluffy and moist! Hope you enjoy. xo 🙂
These look delicious, Nami! I am going to make them very soon. Can I buy the regular ground chicken at grocery to use with this recipe? They also have ground chicken – made with breast meat only – do you think it makes any difference which I use? Thanks so much for sharing and for the lovely video. Anne
Hi Anne! Yes, I buy the ground chicken from a store (this one is from Japanese supermarket). It’s up to you – if you use breast, it’s light and healthy (but usually dry – but tofu should help!) while chicken thigh has more fat so it will be softer and more flavorful. If you can, I’d mix it up to get good balance. 🙂 So happy to hear you enjoyed the video!
These look absolutely delicious!
I will try this one too. For sure.
The meatballs are so mouthwatering. It is very simple to make and really appreciate the step by step video. Nicely done. Thanks.
Wow … that look great and yummy too.
I loved your videos, so professionally done. 2 Thumbs up Nami 😀
Thanks so much for the recipe, may I know must we use Japanese rice vinegar or any will do? Thanks so much.
Hi Shirley! If you don’t have one, you don’t need to get one just for 2 tsp. 🙂 Japanese cooking usually use rice vinegar because it’s mind and not strong vinegar flavor. If you plan to make other Japanese food, it may be a good idea to keep a smaller bottle in the kitchen. 🙂
May I stand in line behind the children for any leftovers? I can’t wait to give your wonderful recipe a try, Nami!
These meatballs really look fluffy and soft and flavorful.. Oh their look makes me hungry 🙂
I like the specks of color from the peppers! I presume it’s also a way to get in some more veggies for a healthy meal. =) Thanks for mentioning the trick with the tofu and paper towel; I bet that’s a lot more efficient than simply letting the tofu sit there to drain.
Thanks so much Kimmi! I “hide” vegetables as much as I can in the food for extra nutrition. My kids eat veggies (maybe they are used to eat veggies from all the years I hide them in food. lol). I sometimes use microwave too (I used this method for some other tofu recipes) to speed up the process. Paper towels is good to absorb excess water right away. 🙂
Nami, I love this recipe. Chicken is best choice for my kids, we do not eat too much red meat because they prefer chicken, maybe because it’s soft.
Looks delicious Nami! I love the lightened up aspect compared to traditional meatballs. Great job!
These look incredible! And healthy with homemade teriyaki sauce! Pinned!
Will have to try this for my daughter! Do you use chicken breast or chicken thigh?
Hi Angie! For the best result, combine both thigh and breast – thigh has more fat and make it juicy while breast is light and healthier. Hope your daughter will enjoy this! 🙂
They look very appetizing! A great recipe.
Cheers,
Rosa
I know exactly how this dish tastes and it is mouth watering! Yum, yum! I should run to the store and get some Tofu 🙂
This is a great recipe. Thank you!
Hi Ayako! I hope you enjoy this recipe, and thanks so much for the kind comment! 🙂
This is cool – I just actually made tsukune with a combination of chicken and okara, which is a similar idea. It came out great!
I love Tsukune too (video shoot 3 weeks ago, so recipe coming soon)! I have to try with Okara next time. I LOVE eating okara… healthy and so delicious!
Lovely recipe and video. Tofu is one of my favorite ingredients in my diet lifestyle cookbook: Beyond The Mediterranean Diet
Your book looks amazing, Layne! Congratulations! 🙂
For some reason, this post never dropped into my mailbox which is a shame cause they look like some pretty tasty meatballs. A friend is planning a New Year’s party (I know … I was surprised too) potluck and I’m going to start putting possible recipes in a folder to bring as my contribution … my felafel recipe for the vegetarians attending is one of this things I’m considering as well.
Dear Nami,
I will be thrilled, if you let me add your blog to my bibliography (I’m writing thesis about Japanese cuisine). You are so inspiring!
P.S. Sorry for writing it here, but I didn’t know where else I should do it.
Hi Ola! Thank you for the message! I’m more than happy and feel flattered if you mention my blog in your thesis. Thank you and good luck!
These look divine- brilliant dinner recipe!
These look so yummy! I’m totally making these tonight! This is the second week in a row I’m using one of your recipes for friday night dinner. Thanks so much! Great job!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Kelli! I hope you enjoy(ed) this recipe!
Nami-san, my boys will love these chicken tofu meatballs. The glaze is certainly the winner for the kids and adults here. How perfect are these for the bento boxes the next day. I will have to remember to make extra. Have a super weekend. BAM
Hi Nami, those chicken meatballs looks really healthy and delicious! I would love to try this when it’s my turn to cook!
quite easy to make but miss nami as i said we don’t use alcoholic things ( like mirin) so please is there any way to make this without mirin or any other alcoholic thing?
Hi Abdul! Replace 1 Tbsp. mirin with 1 Tbsp. water + 1/2 tsp. sugar. Hope this helps. 🙂
Another great recipe, Nami! Thank you! Delica in the Ferry Building in San Francisco makes chicken-tofu meatballs and I loved it so much that I’ve tried to replicate it at home. Now I have your recipe, and your video was especially helpful–I learned how to drain the tofu and to use a cookie scoop. The version I’ve adapted for myself uses a Thai sweet chili sauce in place of the teriyaki glaze. I think adding fresh water chestnuts (only FRESH!) to the meat mixture would be good too.
Hi Sylvia! I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting me know! I actually met the owner of Delica at a social event a few months ago and we had a good talk about Japanese meals, especially meals that we cook at home. We were talking that we should introduce more real Japanese food beyond sushi and tempura. Tofu hambagu (chicken-tofu meatballs) are one of them. I’m glad the video was helpful. Japanese households rarely have a cookie scoop (not a common cooking gadget), but I love it – keeping hands clean! I love Thai sweet chili sauce, too. I use it to coat Karaage sometimes… so good! =P Yeah fresh water chestnuts sounds like an excellent idea! Thanks again for your comment. So nice to hear from the local readers. xo 🙂
Fabulous meatballs, Nami! Love the secret ingredient too never knew tofu made for fluffy meatballs. These look great.
I saw this pic on Facebook and was simply salivating! I am sure, the tofu version would also be good, but the chicken version is something I would really prefer over the tofu one. Teriyaki sauce is one of my favourite sauces!
Great looking meatballs Nami, who knew the secret to fluffy ones is tofu. Gives it a touch of extra healthiness too.
Love the idea of tofu added to the chicken meatball. I am getting so hungry looking at them!!
Tofu chicken meatballs sound so delicious and healthy. I can’t wait to try these! Thanks, Nami!
この年寄りの忍者ベーカー（笑）はなみさんの美味しそうな豆腐ハンバーグのレシピを保存しました。誠にどうもありがとうございました。確かに私より若い方もこの豆腐ハンバーグを食べると嬉しいでしょう。
＝）
Hi Nami,
Your meatballs ar so gorgeous!
I like the combination of ground chicken and tofu.
Thank your for sharing this
Chantal
The tofu makes this a healthier dish! I love it! The sauce looks wonderful, Nami!
These look so yummy, Nami, and what a great mid-week meal. It’s great they only take half an hour to prepare. Everyone in my family would love these, especially with that beautiful sauce xx
Nami, every time I think you can’t raise the bar more, you succeed with a wonderful recipe like this! I’ve never thought about tofu in meat balls and now I can’t stop drooling over these photos. Thanks!!!
I pinned this on pinterest, but had to come over to check out the recipe! This is so happening sometime soon!
What a great idea to add tofu to the ground chicken mixture. I must try your recipe. It looks so good. Thanks for sharing, Nami!
Wow, I didn`t know these would include tofu! That makes it healthier. I thought meatballs were hard to make, but I`ve realized it`s pretty simple.
Meatballs are always a huge hit at our house and my kids love them with an Asian twist – I have never added tofu to my meatballs before but I think this is a fabulous idea to make them extra light and fluffy – they ceratauínly look extremly appetizing served with that lovely glaze and the fresh bright green broccoli.
I saw these meatballs on Instagram and had to come see them here. So appetizing! I’ve been wanting to try doing meatballs with chicken for a long, long time. Adding this one to my ever growing list of your recipes to try.
looks delicious! I’m making these for dinner tonight 🙂
I hope you enjoy(ed) this recipe, Coco! 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
These are so cute! They remind me of the beef/tofu ones my mum used to make for us when my sister and I were younger. Can’t wait to try these with chicken, and I love the addition of bell peppers and teriyaki glaze! 🙂
Just made these for lunch and wow, oh so delicious. I’ve never used tofu like this – usually just in miso or hiyayakko – so this was really fun. It transformed this dish into something that felt very healthy! thanks 😀
Hi Miles! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so glad to hear you liked it! Yes, tofu is a great “secret” ingredients to reduce calories and give a wonderful new texture to the meatballs. 🙂 My kids always prefer ones with tofu because of that fuwa fuwa texture. Thank you again!
Gorgeous! Making this for dinner tonight. I better run and get tofu and the rest of the ingredients for it soon!!
What a great recipe! I’ve never tried adding tofu in meatballs and that’s such a fantastic idea for keeping them moist! I can’t wait to try it out next time, and that sauce looks incredible! Thanks for sharing Nami 🙂
I never would’ve thought to use tofu in a meatball. I love this idea! And these look fantastic 🙂
I only had frozen ground beef and ground turkey in my freezer. I had a block of tofu and tried your recipe with the ground turkey first and then the ground beef a week later.
That drained tofu (divided into two meals) did wonders with the meatballs . The tofu really added another dimension to my normally dry meatballs.
Thanks Nami for another recipe that I would try again and again.
Hi Mae! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Yes, tofu is such an amazing magical ingredient in meatballs! I almost prefer meatballs with tofu than regular meat only version. Thank you so much for your kind feedback, and I’m glad you enjoyed them. xo 🙂
Amazing! I never would have guessed that tofu would make a great meatball. They don’t look too difficult to make either. Another recipe I’ll have to try someday!
Hello Nami,
I am so glad that I joined your mailing list. Your recipes are lovely, These meatballs look brilliant and I’m planning to try them tomorrow. I wondered if I could trouble you with two questions about them, please?
1. Does the recipe work well as a ‘make ahead and freeze’ (regarding just the raw meatballs)?
2. I cannot find mirin locally — but, I was able to track down some Kikkoman kotteri mirin seasoning. Many of the reviews of the product that I’ve found online complain that it is much sweeter than mirin. Have you used Kikkoman kotteri mirin and, if so, how much would you recommend for this recipe?
Best wishes,
Elizabeth in Canada
Hi Elizabeth! I’m terribly sorry for my late response. I was away from computer whole weekend as we had house guests. If it’s not too late, please let me respond to your questions.
Question 1:
To be honest, I’m not sure. I know that tofu’s texture will become different once it’s frozen. Even though the tofu is broken into pieces and mixed with the meat, I’m afraid tofu will change the original texture (fluffy, especially). Therefore, I won’t recommend (especially I haven’t experimented it before).
Question 2:
I wrote about mirin in details in my Mirin page (https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/mirin/), but there are two kinds of mirin. The “real” mirin and “flavored” mirin. Kotteri mirin belongs to the later. It’s nothing wrong with it, but it has more “seasoning” in it to make it taste like real mirin. If you cannot use the real mirin (we call it “hon mirin”), you can use the kikkoman brand. 🙂 I don’t have this brand of mirin so I am not sure how sweet it is, but try omit sugar when you make the sauce, and add sugar into the sauce according to your preference.
Enjoy!
ありがとう ございます, Nami. 🙂 I should have realised that you would have a reference for mirin on your beautifully organised web site. I ended up using the kotteri mirin (cut back the measure a smidge, just in case) and it worked fine. Thank you, too, for the heads up about tofu and freezing — I’m a bit of a novice with the ingredient. Those meatballs were so good, it would have been tempting to freeze a few batches. However, whipping up a fresh recipe when needed certainly won’t be a chore!
By the way, I took the meatballs over to my parents’ place that evening (they’re in their 80’s and live in a ‘granny flat’ across the drive). They definitely enjoyed their dinner — Mum had a second helping. 🙂
Hi Elizabeth! Glad Kotteri Mirin worked fine. 🙂 I’m so glad your parents enjoyed the meatballs too! 🙂 コメント、どうもありがとう！
I have been freezing the meatballs and although there is liquid in the frying pan as they cook, it does evaporate and the texture is okay!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Marilyn! 🙂
I don’t know why and how I missed these gorgeous meatballs! You are right to skip the tofu bit in the name… people always think that Japanese tofu balls are 100% tofu! I also add tofu to my meatballs but mainly to make them juicier when I use very lean meat. Actually when I first made it I had no idea it was a regular method in Japanese cuisine, funny isn’t it?
I love your addition of chopped sweet peppers. This is something I have never added! Very original but I’m sure very tasty too. (As a crazy hot food lover, I will use your tip and put fresh chillies instead 😉 ).
We just made these tonight and doubled all the ingredients for our lunches this week. Straight out of the pan they are incredible! Flavoursome, moist and healthy! This is going to be one of our regular staples for high protein meals. Thanks, Nami 🙂
Hi Luke! Glad to hear the meatballs came out very well! This recipe is one of our staples too, as it’s perfect for bento. And I add different vegetables and ingredients every time. Thank you for your kind comment! 🙂
Oishii!! I made this today and my family loved it! The market didn’t have ground chicken so I used ground turkey instead and it was still delicious!
The tofu really does make the meatball fluffy and very light. The ginger gives it a nice freshness and the sauce – yum! I doubled the sauce amount as it was so good! Also served salad with your carrot ginger dressing. Love, love! Your photos are beautiful! So glad I found your blog!
Hi Eileen! Yay! So happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Yes, tofu is an amazing healthy ingredient! 😀 Thanks for trying the carrot ginger dressing too! I’m glad you enjoy reading my blog, and thanks so much for following! xoxo
Hello, i like to try this but my kids are both allergic to egg. is there any substitute for egg?
Hi June! The egg is used to bind the ingredients together. You can try adding panko or potato/corn starch instead of eggs. Both are also commonly used as binding agent. 🙂
Eating these as I type. Extremely good. I used turkey instead of chicken, since I couldn’t find ground chicken. Tripled the sauce, since I made a huge batch of meatballs and served over brown rice. Thanks again for the recipe. This one is a keeper 🙂
Hi Lynn! I’m so happy you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for letting me know. 🙂
Nami,
Today, I made this recipe with the following modifications.
1. Used lamb meat instead of beef.
2. Omitted the wine. No wine for our grand children.
3. Used a Granny Smith apple instead of Fuji.
4. Did not serve Fukujinzuke.
It was great. Next time I will used the Mild Hot Curry. Lovely recipe and delicious. Thank you!
Hi, Just wondering would it still work if i only have soft tofu rather than firm?
Hi Hazel! You can, but soft tofu has more moisture in the tofu, so it might get watery if you don’t drain tofu well. Make sure not to skip draining the tofu. 🙂
Hi Nami!
So excited to make these. I’m planning to put them in a wrap for tomorrow’s lunch!; would it be okay to pre-make the mince mix and sauce the night before and store it in the fridge so it’s ready to go on the pan in the morning, or would you recommend for example to leave adding the egg in until the morning?
Thanks 🙂
Barbara
Hi Barbara! When you use tofu, you have to be a bit careful. Tofu includes a lot of water. If you didn’t dehydrate, the water slowly comes out and make the mixture more wet. So, either you cook till Step 11 or 12, or dehydrate tofu very well and make the mixture ahead, but the following morning, if you see some wet spot in the mixture, you might need to use paper towel and remove. Hope that helps! 🙂
Absolutely delicious , I have made this recipe already a couple time!!!
Thank you very much!!!
Hi Natalia! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami, thanks for the recipe and i have been trying out other recipes from your site. I made chicken meatballs for dinner tonight and it is so delicious! The patty is not dry at all although i used chicken fillets instead of chicken thighs.
Hi Jennifer! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, and thank you so much for trying my other recipes! Tofu is an amazing ingredient (and you don’t really taste it in case some people don’t like tofu…)!! 🙂
Nami-san,
This recipe is wonderful and has helped me so much recently. I’ve been cooking Japanese food since high school and even lived in Japan for several years. Recently, I had bariatric surgery to reduce my weight, and it’s very important I eat lots of healthy protein. Regular meat, however, was too hard to digest. I thought, “Oh! Let’s try tofu and meat hamburger!” It’s perfect! The texture is soft, like you say, and it still has lots of protein to help my energy level. Thank you for sharing such a simple and useful recipe! 本当に助かりました！ありがとうございます！^_^
Hi Robin! Glad to hear you enjoyed this dish and worked out well for your diet too. コメントどうもありがとう！嬉しかったです！ 🙂
Hi Nami,
I am Monica from Indonesia, to let you know that I have tried your teriyaki chicken meatballs recipe. Eventhough I didn’t use mirin and rice vinegar since I don’t have them here (I only used apple cider vinegar), the taste very delicious. Thanks for sharing.
FYI, I have posted the recipe on my blog (written in Bahasa Indonesia) and link back to Just One Cookbook already.
I think your blog already well known here in Indonesia, so hopefully by trying your recipe, most of my readers will happy if they know I am using your recipe.
And I think I will try your other recipes next time, already bookmarked some pages of yours.
Thanks again for sharing great recipes.
Hi Monica! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thank you for linking back to my post! xo 🙂
Hello! Could you please provide an estimate of the time for each side of the meatball to lose the pinkness inside? Is it necessary to put on the lid during the cooking of the meatballs and the reducing of the sauce? Thank you so much!
P.S Do you have a good salad recipe for yuzu dressing? Thank you!
Hi Esther! If you follow my instruction and make the same meatball size, browning should take between 3-5 minutes (depends on frying pan size and heat), and then flip to cook for another 3 minutes. However, don’t rely on the cooking time too much, and you have to know if your meatballs are cooked through or not after cooking covered for 3 minutes. You can pick one and cut with knife to see how it is (choose one that’s “least cooked” – to make sure).
When reducing the sauce, no need to put a lid – you want to evaporate the moisture, so the sauce will be thicken (less moisture).
Do you mean that you already have yuzu dressing? Hmm… maybe finely shredded daikon (like noodles) salad or just simple green salad would be great. Oh and the tofu salad (recipe on the site). 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hello again! If I cook the meatballs thoroughly before reducing the sauce, wouldn’t it become overcooked and tough? Perhaps would it be better to undercook the meat slightly before reducing the sauce to prevent tough meatballs? Thank you so much!
Hi Esther! So sorry for my late response! As tofu is included, you shouldn’t worry too much about the meat getting tougher. Plus, the amount of sauce added is not a lot and it shouldn’t take too long to reduce. Hope this helps!
I love this recipe, it is easy, quick and kids love it. You just gave me an idea for my daughter’s lunch for today. 🙂
can I make it and keep it in the freezer till tommorrow before cooking ? Thks
Hi Steph! I’m sorry if I failed to answer your question in time… I usually cook everything and then freeze, and never freeze the raw meatballs in the freezer. 🙂
This looks like a great recipe! Except for one thing – I don’t like peppers of any color. Can I leave them out? Will it affect texture? Can you suggest other vegetables that would go well with this recipe? I love everything else in the recipe and eager to try it!
Thank you!
Hi hfriday! I’m terribly sorry I completely missed your comment and just found yours in my inbox… I’m very sorry for my late response. What’s your favorite vegetables? Chop up into small pieces and add them (like corn, zucchini, anything!). Or you can just put herbs too. Enjoy! 🙂
Can you bake these instead? I don’t useoils too much in my cooking.
Hi Jenny! I haven’t tried baking these but if you try, let us know if it works! 🙂
Hello Nami, I really like this recipe and with the addition of tofu, these meatballs look very healthy as well. I will give it a try, but I have a question: Can I use ground beef instead of chicken, and can these be baked instead of fried in oil? Thank you
Hi Felix! I haven’t tried with beef, but I assume it’ll work, but I rarely see the combination of beef and tofu though. I still recommend the ground chicken for that reason. I think you can use oven, however, you have to cover it so that it won’t be too dry. Let me know if that works. I haven’t tried making it in the oven before and I’m sure other readers love to hear your feedback as well. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi Nami,
What gorgeous looking meatballs! One quick question, is it okay to pre-cooked the meatballs and reheat them in the pan adding teriyaki sauce only just before serving?
Hi Simone! Sure, you can do that. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
I don’t have mirin, is it ok to leave that out?
Hi Kimberly! You’ll be missing out liquid and sweetness, so please add 1 Tbsp. water + 1/2 – 1 tsp. sugar. Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
I’ve made these twice now, and it’s absolutely delicious. I love how the tofu makes it so light! My friends raved about how fluffy they were and were shocked when I told them that there was tofu in them. They were even shocked that the sauce was homemade…
Thanks for the amazing recipes, I’m looking forward to trying more!
Hi Amy! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this dish! Isn’t tofu amazing? You can’t really tell it’s in there, and it makes the meatball so nice and fluffy. I’m glad your friends enjoyed it too. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
hello nami! can i ask what other veggies can i hide in this meatball other than the bell peppers? thanks!
Hi Cheryl! Vegetables can be anything, as long as they’re chopped into small bits. They can be carrot, green beans, corn, green onion, etc… 🙂
I’m going to try and make these with salmon! Since I’m a pescetarian :). I hope I can make them hold their shape!
Hi Chic Lapin! I think I saw the picture on your IG (or was it twitter?). Thank you so much for trying this recipe! From the photo you shared, it looks like it held their shape! 😀
Hi Nami
This is indeed a good recipe.
My family loves it.
Hi Nami,
Another winner! The chicken meatballs were so soft and fluffy! It is just so must fun to make great tasty food with items that I already have in my refrigerator. Thanks a million!
So happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hey Nami, I haven’t mirin in my house so can I use oyster sauce?
Sorry for my late response, suvosri! Mirin and oyster sauce are totally different things, so I’m afraid you can’t use it. Just omit mirin here. 🙂
I made these meatballs (as my first Japanese recipe) and it was delicious. Very easy to make as well. I should though consider getting a slightly larger frying pan because I did not immerse the meatballs in the teriyaki equally.
I will be adding this to my cooking list and make it regularly. I like it very much and this deserves 5 stars. (I will also learn a number of other Japanese recipes here while at it!)
Thank you, Nami!
Hello Leo! Thank you so much for your very kind feedback on this dish! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it! It’s always nice to use a slightly bigger pan than actual food amount so that you can flip easily and heat will go through evenly (or make in batches). Thanks again for writing and for the 5 stars!! 😀 xo
I recently discovered your blog and am excited to try some recipes! None of the places around me carry medium firm tofu. My choices are silken and firm. Is there any way to substitute using these? Thank you for your site!
Hi Olivia! Welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy cooking recipes from my site. You can use silken tofu, but it has more water in it, so make sure to de-hydrate tofu by pressing it for a long time. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
How much salt did you add? 1 teaspoon? 1 tablespoon?
Hi June! About a pinch (1/8) to 1/4 teaspoon would do. 🙂
About the sauce, can I use the store bought teriyaki sauce?
Sure! 🙂
Hi Nami,
I can’t do frying at home, can I bake them in oven instead? If yes, how long should I bake? Thank you.
Hi Star! I have never made this recipe in the oven, so I’m not sure if it works… let us know if you give it a try!
Hi Nami,
I am trying to add more vege into food for my son, do you think I can add some finely chopped brocoli into the chicken ball?
Thank you.
Sure, you can add it! 🙂
I made these Chicken Meatballs last night and omg, they were so good!! I’ve made so many of your recipes and each one as been so good Nami.
Everyone loved these meatballs and I will definitely be making them again.
Follow you recipe exact recipe. Yummy!
Hi Esther! Thank you for trying my recipe and I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for writing your kind feedback. 🙂
i like this recipe
picture 11 looks so juicy but mine s not little burning
Hi Tuul! It depends on how much moisture in the meatballs. Don’t worry too much. If the sauce is too thick, add sake or water a little bit. 🙂
Great Recipe! made a big batch for work lunches this week 🙂 yum yum!!
Hi Emily! Thank you so much! So happy to hear you tried this recipe. Hope you’re enjoying it this week. 😀
I just made this today. Very good recipe! And I have tons of leftovers for lunch and the rest of the week. Yay!
Hi Van Anh! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you liked it! 🙂
This has easily become a favorite in my home. It’s a great recepie for bento too. If you double the recepie it easily makes enough for a few days. I use the extra tofu to make homemade miso soup.
Hi April! I”m so happy to hear this recipe became your family’s favorite! Yes, I usually make tofu miso soup too!!! 😀 Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
What a delicious recipe! I substituted with ground pork and added 1 Tbsp of soy sauce to the sauce…and it turned out perfect with that beautiful glaze..Thank you
Hi Fiona! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
I made this last night, it was delicious. My picky husband also loved it 🙂
Hi Steph! Thanks so much for your kind feedback! Sorry I just saw this comment… Sorry about my late response!
Hi Nami,
I tried this meat ball recipe before but my kids don’t seem to like them. They still love the Yakitori Chicken Meatball from Tori Q in S’pore. May I ask what’s the difference between this “chicken meatball” and the Tsukune (つくね) Japanese chicken meatballs recipe? Which one is nearer to the taste of Tori Q Chicken Meatball? It’s really a headache to cook for picky kids:( Btw, they do like your Salmon Teriyaki:) Thanks
Hi Nana! I don’t live in Singapore, so I have never dined at Tori Q before and I don’t know what they serve… so there is no way for me to tell you if my recipes are close to Tori Q recipe. 🙂
This recipe includes tofu to make it fluffy but tsukune is pure chicken so it’s harder texture.
I’m happy to hear your children enjoyed my Salmon Teriyaki recipe. 🙂
Dear Nami,
Thank you for your prompt reply. Then I will take time to try your Tsukune meatball recipe, maybe they will like them:) I like your blog and recipes akin my 3 kids like Japanese cuisine. Thank you for your great recipe<3
Hope your children will enjoy the recipe! Thank you for your kind words about my blog! 🙂
If I want to make this into hamburger steak, should I reduce the amount of tofu so it’s easier to shape?
Hi Poon! The amount of tofu is really up to you (more tofu, healthier and fluffier). You can still make a bigger hamburger shape with this recipe. 🙂
can’t wait to make this recipe this week, thank you!
Hi Suzze! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
I just wanted to say thank you so much for replying, there are so many people out there who have food blogs that never respond to your questions and I appreciate you getting back to me, thank you 🙂
Aw thank you! I consider it’s part of my job (as blogging is my full-time job). 🙂 I am just happy that people are trying out Japanese foods at home and I’m happy to help out during the process. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi Nami, I wanted to know for your chicken meatballs what do you use as a binder? Bread crumbs, starch, etc? 🙂
Hi Suzze! The tofu and egg act as a binder so you don’t need breadcrumbs or starch (you can use it, but you don’t need in this recipe). 🙂
I made this yesterday and it turned out fantastic! So easy, so tasty. I’ll be making this again and again.
On a side note, the leftover meatballs worked great to reheat, maintaining almost all their juiciness after microwaving them today.
Thank you for this great recipe!
Hi Andy! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂 xo
Hi Nami, I plan on making these this weekend, it doesn’t say in the recipe but what are you using, white or dark meat ground chicken? 🙂
Hi Suzze! In your country, you have a choice for dark or white ground chicken? I believe it’s thigh (although it doesn’t say which part being used). 🙂
Hi, thank you for the recipe.
1 question : will this still taste good if frozen after cooking and heated up like a week later?
regards, Donna
Hi Donna! I do that often. I recommend making extra sauce and save or cook the sauce too. 🙂
Just made this! It’s so delicious that I’m wondering whether it will last until my husband gets home from work!
Hi Hedwig! My family love this dish too! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! 🙂
Aloha Nami,
I made this recipe for the first time tonight. It was soooooo GOOD! My family loved it!!! It was tasty, moist, soft and fluffy. I tripled the recipe and I’m glad because we ate a lot and I kept snitching as I was cooking ????. I added a small amount of finely chopped round onion to substitute for the bell peppers and made a batch with sauce and one without. It was good even without the sauce????. I wonder what it would be like with a little bit of chopped water chestnuts…I think it might add a nice crunch without changing the flavor too much. Anyway, thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Nami! It is now a family favorite. Even my dad, who is kinda picky, was very expressive on how good it was! Mahalo for another wonderful meal ????????????! Amy
Hi Amy! I’m so happy to hear you and your family liked this recipe and thanks so much for your kind comment! I like your water chestnut idea for the crunch, and it goes well with this sauce too. Thank you again for your kind feedback. xo
Hi Nami, can’t wait to try this recipe. What’s the best way of freezing these if I were to make a big batch?
HI Jeny! For me, I usually freeze the leftover for bento, so I put 4 pieces (2 per kids) in each container with sauce and freeze them. I recommend dividing up based on how much you defrost in once so you can divide the sauce as well. 🙂
Is this suitable to b freeze?
Hi Ernie! You can freeze the meatballs after you cook and cool down. 🙂
Hello dear Nami ,what do you eat beside this? Rice? Or just salad? I’m Going to make them this week 😀 but with 3men in the house …..
Hi Stephanie! We eat some veggies or salad, rice, miso soup, and since you have 3 men in the house, I’d definitely add 2-3 side dishes… in Japan, typical side dishes can be fish, simmered dishes (more vegetables + small amount of meat) etc…
Have you checked side dish category?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/?fwp_course=side-dish
These look awesome! Gonna make this tomorrow!
Hi Rheena! Thank you! Hope you enjoy(ed) this recipe!
Hi
Can this be frozen? At which step should i put into the freezer?
Hi Mel! You cook the meatballs and let them cool. Then you can put it in an airtight container and freeze. 🙂
Hi!
I tried this recipe tonight and it was delicious, thanks for sharing!
I did it with turkey breasts instead of chicken since I already had some, and added a little more tofu in case it might be too dry. It had a lot of success. 😀
Hi Anne! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
My family loves this recipe and the leftovers make the best bento lunch. Thank you!
Hi Christine! Wonderful! I’m happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami — I’ve been making this recipe since you posted it and it’s one of my favorites!
But I really want to understand how you decided the ratios for the teriyaki sauce — why do you leave out sake and use rice vinegar in this recipe? Is the goal to make it less rich and more bright?
Hi Daniel! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe and make it since I published this post! Thank you!
So, I think I’ve mentioned that we don’t have teriyaki sauce in Japan. There is no specific taste to our “teriyaki sauce” unlike here the “bottle teriyaki sauce taste”. So each family makes up their ratio, and each family changes up their portion all the time. Otherwise we’re eating the same sauce all the time… you know, Japanese seasonings are always soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar… these 4 makes up majority of Japanese seasonings. But we never call “teriyaki”. So this one is just another example of teriyaki variation. To make it “lighter” I used rice vinegar to get that zing flavor in the sauce. You can replace or add sake – and that’s totally okay. I always change up the flavor so my family doesn’t get tired of same flavor. Also with the vegetables in this recipe, it has nice to have rice vinegar too. You can add garlic, ginger… make different variations based on ingredients. Hope I answered to your question?
Thanks for the detailed response — I was just looking to understand your thought process so your answer was very helpful!
You’re very welcome. 🙂
Tried this twice with chicken and turkey. Chicken taste much better since the turkey was very lean. The teriyaki sauce is yummy. I would double even triple the sauce!
Hi Abigail! Thank you for trying this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
My family loves this recipe! Thank you!
Thanks so much Jackie! So happy to hear your family enjoys this recipe! 🙂
I made these tonight, they were so good and so easy! The tofu really does make them moist and fluffy, I cooked them to within an inch of their lives and they stayed nice and moist!
Hi Eden! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m so happy you liked it! Thanks for making my day! 🙂
Hi,
I have been looking at your blog for a while. Everything looks awesome and we love the Beef Soboro recipe!
Question about this recipe. And please don’t hate me 🙂
We don’t eat tofu. Can it be replaced with something else? I would really like to make this for my crazy Japanese food lover school lunch. 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Zaneta! Sure, you can totally omit tofu, but the meat patties won’t be so fluffy (the main feature of this recipe) because it lacks tofu. When you make meat with just ground meat, it tends to be very tough meat balls… you know, just ordinary. If you don’t like tofu for taste, I want to let you know you don’t taste tofu in this recipe. Otherwise, hmm… you can use Japanese “Fu” (wheat gluten – https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/fu-wheat-gluten/) but I know it’s not easy to find it. Or you can use panko (Japanese breadcrumbs or Japanese toast – very fluffy compared to American toast) but I’m not sure how that will work in this recipe as I’ve never tasted using other ingredients.
Thank you, I will try Panko, that’s a great idea.
Enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami, I saw these were marked as freezer friendly. Would you recommend freezing it before you cook or after you cook it?
Hi A! I always cook first, let cool, and freeze. The food is preserved better after it’s cooked (the quality and taste is better kept after being cooked and served). 🙂
If I double this recipe to make more meatballs, but only have one package of tofu will they come out horrible?
Hi Amanda! Sorry about my late response. The ratio is kind of important BUT sometimes you have to make with what you have. It won’t come out horribly, so don’t worry! It’ll be less fluffy, and that’s probably the only difference. 🙂
Love the idea of light chicken meatballs, with your ingredients, so simple and very tasty. Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi Barbara! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂