Tsukune (meatloaf) (つくね)
Tsukune is a food consisting of ground livestock meat or chicken (fish meat in rare cases) and a thickener that are kneaded or ground together and formed into a ball or stick shape.
Summary
Finely ground or smashed meat is thickened with chicken eggs, yam, bread crumbs, and so on and is seasoned with ginger, salt, soy sauce, and so on. Then, they are ground and formed into a ball or stick shape. Finely chopped chicken gristles or finely chopped vegetables such as green onions, beefsteak plant, and onions may be added. Tsukune is a generic term for a cooked food which is properly formed into a ball by hand or by using a tool. The popular notion that 'all ball-shaped meat is tsukune' is wrong in a strict sense. Similarly, another popular notion that 'all ball-shaped fish meat is tsumire' (minced fish) is wrong as well. The term "gan" may be used as a generic name for tsumire and tsukune.
Cooking method
Stewing (one-pot dish cooked at the table)
Grill (grilled chicken and grilled tsukune)
Deep fry (deep-fried food)