This recipe is my attempt to replicate the yummy chicken meatballs I’ve had at several japanese restaurants. While I don’t think I’ve wholly succeeded, these seem to be a crowd pleaser in my household. The kids surely love them and they serve up well as finger food at our cocktail parties. They’re easy to pan fry in large batches, and I like them best brushed with some teriyaki sauce or with a soy dipping sauce on the side.

Ready

• 2 lbs of ground chicken
• 2 large shallots minced
• 1 cup of panko bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• ⅓ cup of parsley
• 1 tsp of salt
• ⅓ tsp of pepper
• 2 eggs
• Olive, vegetable or canola oil for frying

Set

• bowl
• spoon
• frying pan (i like cast iron)
• spatula
• platter

Go

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, minced shallots, soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper together.
2. Add bread crumbs and eggs last. Mix well with your hands.
3. Refrigerate mixture for an hour or so.
4. Coat frying pan with oil and turn on medium heat.
5. Drop spoonfuls of meatball mixture onto frying pan.
6. Turn and cook on all sides.
7. Let cool on platter. Makes about 3 dozen small meatballs.

What you should know

I like the panko bread crumbs which have a very light texture — you can find them in any Asian supermarket and specialty food stores. As mentioned, brush cooked meatballs lightly with a teriyaki sauce or serve with a soy dipping sauce on the side.