Sesame Miso Chicken Meatballs are the perfect Japanese appetizer or a quick and easy topping for a bowl of Asian ramen noodles.
Ingredients
Sesame Miso chicken meatballs are infused with sesame oil, ginger, green onion, miso paste and then rolled in toasted sesame seeds and has a delicious ponzu sesame dipping sauce. They are super easy to make, baked to perfection and received 2 thumbs up from the hungry crew.
Of course you can use pork or beef as an exchange for the ground chicken but the ground chicken reminds me of the flavors of delicious Negima Yakitori with Grilled Portobello (Japanese grilled chicken on skewers).
Dietary Needs
Sesame Miso Chicken Meatballs are gluten-free, dairy free and easy to forget how many you have eaten, as I seem to just keep popping in one after the other. Drats...now I have to make another batch.
You know recipe creation is difficult but then of course we need to have a quality assurance analyzer to make sure it passes the test. I have eaten a LOT of sesame miso chicken meatballs this week. 🙂
What is Miso paste?
Miso is a fermented soybean paste and gives many Japanese dishes their delicious umami savory flavor. You can use miso as an alternative to soy sauce or salt and it gives your dishes a deeper delicious flavor. If you are sensitive to gluten, then you are going to have to look for miso alternatives and there are many that are made without wheat or soy sauce.
I used a an organic Japanese brown rice Miso from Clear Spring and it is made with only brown rice and no barley. Miso is a delicious and easy way to add flavor and umami to these delicious Sesame Miso Chicken Meatballs.
What is Ponzu Sauce
Ponzu sauce is essentially soy sauce, yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit), mirin (Japanese rice wine for cooking), dashi broth and a touch of sugar. Heck I can't even get yuzu here in Hong Kong, so I know that most of you would not be able to source this product either. Therefore, I simplified the whole recipe to include items you can find no matter where you are living.
Keeping it Gluten-Free
As our family uses tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce alternative) to avoid gluten, I made my own homemade ponzu sauce by simply mixing tamari and fresh squeezed lime juice together. I added just a touch of sesame oil to give the sauce a richer taste.
If you have mirin, dashi and yuzu in your pantry, by all means use that too. The Sesame Miso Chicken Meatballs are delicious all by themselves and would be fabulous in a bowl of ramen noodles. However if you are serving them as an appetizer, then I suggest serving them with the ponzu sauce as it gives them a bright fresh citrus savory flavor.
More Delicious Meatball Recipes
Thai Curry Turkey Tofu Meatballs
Spanish Meatballs with Peppers and Tomato Wine Sauce
Spaghetti and Meatballs with Grandma's Sauce
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Sesame Miso Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 8 oz ground chicken
(Minced) - ⅓ cup tofu
firm - ¼ cup green onions
chopped finely - 1 tablespoon miso paste
gluten- free - 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoon sesame seeds
toasted white
Ponzu Dipping Sauce
- 3 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a bowl mix ground chicken, tofu, green onions, miso paste, ginger, tamari (soy sauce), white pepper, sesame oil and mix until well incorporated.
- Roll chicken mixture into 1 and ½ inch balls and then roll into toasted sesame seeds to cover chicken meatball completely. Set aside on a parchment paper lined baking dish or well greased pan. (They have a tendency to stick so don't skip this step)
- You can either bake uncovered for approximately 20 minutes in a 190 degree C (375 degrees F) oven until golden brown and no longer pink inside . Or you can pan fry for approximately 12 minutes on medium low heat and turning occasionally so they brown on all sides. When the chicken meatballs are done, they will be slightly firm to the touch and no longer pink inside.
- While your chicken meatballs are cooking, prepare the ponzu dipping sauce. In a small bowl add tamari (soy sauce), lime juice and sesame oil and mix.
- Enjoy Sesame Miso Chicken Meatballs with the ponzu sesame sauce! Garnish with green onions if desired.
Jen says
Never thought to use Miso this way
Kevin says
Miso in these -- how unique
Ken says
Wow -- so many things can do with MISO.