Chicken patty with perilla つくねの大葉焼き

This is a variation of "Tsukune" つくね or Japanese style chicken patty. You could make this with any variation of seasonings. For this one, besides ground chicken, I added chopped shallot, a small amount of miso, grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce and mirin. As a binder, I also added potato starch and small amount of beaten egg. Unfortunately, I did not measure anything but you could always cook a small portion of the meat mixture and taste to adjust the seasonings. I make a flat oval about the size of perilla leaves and attach perilla leaves on both side. On medium-low heat, I fried it in a small amount of olive oil, for several minutes on both sides or until done. You could make a sauce with mirin and soy sauce towards the end of cooking to make the sauce thicken and cling to the patties but I just served it with tonkatsu sauce and Japanese hot mustard.

The perilla becomes crispy and adds its distinctive flavor. Miso make nice nutty and salty taste and it did not need any sauce. Again a simple quick dish but excellent with sake, nonetheless.