Hi, I’m Francis,
the host of this show "Cooking with Dog."
First, let’s prepare the atsuage, thick deep-fried tofu.
Slice off the fried edges.
If atsuage is not available, firm tofu can be used instead
but make sure to remove
the excess water thoroughly before cooking.
Then, chop the edges into fine pieces.
Next, break the tofu into small pieces.
Now, place the lean ground pork in a bowl
and add the salt,
pepper,
sake,
soy sauce,
grated ginger root
and the beaten egg.
Squeeze the mixture to combine all the ingredients.
Then, loosely spread your fingers
forming a rake shape with your hand
to thoroughly mix the meat until it becomes kind of gooey.
This will help to combine other ingredients later.
Now, add the atsuage,
chopped long green onion
and the potato starch.
Thoroughly mix the meat mixture again.
Then, divide the meat into 10 pieces
and place them onto a plate.
Now, let’s make the meatballs.
Add the vegetable oil to a pan and turn on the burner.
Coat your hands with oil,
shape each piece into a ball and quickly place it into the pan.
Using a spatula, brown the meatballs.
In this recipe, we used lean meat to reduce the amount of fat
and added the tofu to help make the meatballs tender.
You can also use regular ground pork,
beef or chicken, and leave out the atsuage or tofu.
When they are golden brown, add 1 tablespoon of water.
Cover and cook the meatballs for 1 to 2 minutes
to avoid undercooking the meat.
Remove the lid and allow the remaining water to evaporate.
Then, place the meatballs onto a plate.
Now, clean the pan with a paper towel.
Then, combine the chicken stock, sugar,
vinegar,
soy sauce
and the pepper.
Mix all the ingredients
and pour it into the pan.
Re-heat the pan and dissolve the sugar.
Then, turn off the burner.
Thoroughly stir the diluted potato starch
and gradually add it to the sauce.
If the heat is too strong, the starch will instantly clump up
before it can be distributed.
Heat the pan again.
And thoroughly cook the sauce.
Then, add the meatballs and coat them with the sauce.
Now, they are ready.
Place the meatballs onto a plate
along with the cherry tomatoes and green leaf lettuce.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top.
Ta-da!
We think people from all generations
will enjoy this savory sweet vinegar sauce.
The meatballs are still delicious when cooled
so they make a great bento ingredient also.
Tomato ketchup flavored meatballs are also popular in Japan
and you can add ketchup to taste in this sauce as well.
Good luck in the kitchen!