Name: Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 600 g minced chicken ((ground chicken)); 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1 teaspoon white pepper (freshly cracked); 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1 garlic clove (finely grated); 1 tablespoon ginger (finely grated); 2 tablespoons spring onions ((scallions) finely chopped); ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (or other breadcrumbs); 1 egg; 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil; 45 ml sake; 90 ml mirin; 90 ml soy sauce; 4 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar; fresh chives (or spring onions (scallions), finely chopped); toasted sesame seeds (optional); Steamed Jasmine Rice; steamed vegetables (such as broccoli, asparagus or cauliflower)

Teriyaki Chicken

I’m a big fan of Japanese cuisine and, after some years of relentless persuasion and bribery, I recently succeeded in convincing my children to eat sushi. With raw fish. And now we have an expensive food addiction, but at least it’s healthy, right?

But before salmon maki and tuna nigiri became a thing in our home, teriyaki chicken was right up there on our list of favourite Japanese dishes.

Teriyaki Chicken meatballs in pan sprinkled with chives

Teriyaki Meatballs

For something a bit different, I love to make Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs. It takes a bit more time than if you were to cook just sliced chicken, but who can resist meatballs?

These teriyaki meatballs are deliciously tender and juicy, and heady with Asian flavours such as ginger, garlic and sesame oil.

They are perfect tossed through the sticky teriyaki sauce and served on a bed of steamed rice. Comfort in a bowl.

Teriyaki Chicken meatballs in white skillet

Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

These days, it is so easy to buy a bottle of ready-made teriyaki sauce. But making your own teriyaki sauce from scratch is just a matter of mixing together a few Asian sauces which you might already have in your pantry. Plus, you can control the sweetness and/or saltiness to your liking.

I use the teriyaki sauce recipe below when stir-frying chicken to make Teriyaki Chicken, but it also works well with stir-fried beef and pan-fried salmon fillets or salmon cutlets.

Teriyaki Chicken meatballs in skillet on white table

How to Make Teriyaki Chicken

Step 1

Place all of the ingredients for the chicken meatballs into a large mixing ball. Use your hands to mix everything together gently.

ingredients for chicken meatballs in white mixing bowl

Step 2

Roll the mixture into small meatballs, about the size of a golf ball. The batter is quite sticky, so I recommend wetting your hands every so often to make rolling the meatballs easier.

Place the meatballs into the fridge for about 30 minutes for them to chill and firm.

uncooked chicken meatballs on white plate

Step 3

Heat some vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan or skillet. Cook the meatballs in batches until they are all nicely golden and caramelised all over. Remove the cooked meatballs to a plate.

Step 4

Using the same (unwashed) pan which you used to cook the meatballs, add all of the teriyaki sauce ingredients. Simmer the teriyaki sauce over medium-high heat until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Return all of the chicken meatballs to the pan and toss them through the teriyaki sauce. Simmer gently for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened a little more.

This recipe creates a bit more teriyaki sauce than usual because my family and I like to have some extra sauce to drizzle over our rice.

Teriyaki Chicken meatballs in skillet on marble table

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