Tsukune and Shiitake Soup

Tori tsukune to shiitake no suimono

Difficulty

Ingredients (Serves 4): tsukune (chicken meatballs):
100 g ground chicken
100 g hanpen fish paste cakes
1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp mirin
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp potato starch

1 piece kombu kelp, 3 cm square

4 shiitake mushrooms
carrot, about 5 cm long
mizuna

soup:
800 ml dashi stock
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp usukuchi soy sauce

1/2 yuzu, for garnish

Directions

1. Place the ground chicken, finely torn-up hanpen, and salt into a bowl and mix well. Add the mayonnaise and mirin and mix well, then add the potato starch and mix until the mixture becomes sticky enough to form balls.

2. Remove the shiitake stems and lightly salt them, then grill until fragrant.

3. Cut the carrot katsura-muki style (shave a long, continuous thin slice from the outside in, like unrolling paper), then use a cutter to cut into plum blossom shapes. Boil the carrot in salted water, then transfer to unsalted water and drain.

4. Briefly cook the mizuna in salted water, then transfer to cold water and squeeze dry. Cut into 4–5 cm lengths.

5. Cut the yuzu peel ore-matsuba style (cut the peel into thin strips connected at the ends in an N shape, then fold them together into a triangle shape).

6. Put the water and kombu kelp in a pot and bring to a boil. When it boils, reduce heat to medium-low, then use a spoon to add the chicken mixture to the pot. Use a ladle or other tool to roll the tsukune meatballs as they boil for 5–6 minutes to cook through. Once they've cooked through, drain the tsukune meatballs.

7. Put the dashi stock into a pot and heat. When it boils, add the salt and soy sauce.

8. Serve in individual bowls by placing the tsukune meatballs, shiitake mushrooms, carrot, mizuna and yuzu peel into them, then pouring the soup over top.