Asian Glazed Meatballs

October 6, 2014

Asian Glazed Meatballs


Be honest, how good are you with chopsticks?
World Champ, pretty good, alright or a total disaster?
I myself wouldn’t say I'm an expert at using them, nor I would win any prize for artistic impression, but I’m okay at getting food into my mouth at a honest pace.
Sometimes I get impatient though, and just stab the food with the chopsticks (sashimi anyone?), or if I am eating noodles I just twirl it around.
But I’m not as bad as some of my friends, who cannot pick up a thing with them, and when they do, they always end up flinging the food over the other side of the table.
Except for Fred, he is kinda awesome at using chopsticks, but he has lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and has really stepped up his chopstick skills while he was there.

Asian Glazed Meatballs



Chopsticks are definitely not a feat of incredible dexterity, but if you have grown-up using fork and knife, the transition is not an easy one.
Take my friend Soh Young for instance, she’s originally from Korea and she’s a chopstick legend.
She gracefully use chopsticks as if they are an extension of her limbs.
She not only uses them for eating, she has carried them over into everyday kitchen use, and cooks just about everything with them — trust me, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
She even taught me a couple of chopsticks tricks: such as tamping down your rice if you're having trouble eating it. If it's pressed together, it sticks so you can get chunks instead of single grains.
Another trick is to hold the chopsticks slightly apart like a shovel and pick up the food that way (this is especially true with rice.)

Asian Glazed Meatballs

Anyways, I’m not the right person to give out chopsticks etiquette advice. I’m just a regular Joe that kinda gets by with chopsticks so I do not starve when I’m eating at Asian restaurants.
But what I can tell you is that these Asian Glazed Meatballs are so good that it doesn’t really matters whether you eat them with chopsticks, with a fork or with your hands.
Actually, now that I’m thinking about, eating them with your hands is definitely the way to go — provided that you don’t care about getting your fingers all sticky.
They come together pretty quickly and they are bursting with yummy flavor.
Serve with a vegetable stir-fry for a light and easy dinner. They can be a great party food or appetizer too.
You can’t go wrong with these juicy meatballs!

Asian Glazed Meatballs

Asian Glazed Meatballs                                                                                  Print this recipe!

Ingredients

Serves 4

Meatballs

1 lb / 453 gr organic ground pork
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup / 1.7 oz / 48 gr almond meal (or gluten-free breadcrumbs)
½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten

Sauce

½ cup / 125 ml rice vinegar
¼ cup / 60 ml wheat-free soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
1 tablespoon Sriracha (make your own Sriracha with this recipe)
2 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder*
1 tablespoon olive oil

*arrowroot powder acts like cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (180°C) and place a rack in the middle. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine ground pork, olive oil, almond meal, ginger, garlic and beaten egg. Mix well.
With dampened hands form into meatballs and place onto the baking sheet.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, until cooked through.
In the meantime, in a small bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Pour in a large skillet and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When the meatballs are finished cooking, stir them into the sauce until well coated.
Serve hot!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 348 calories, 25 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbs and 22 grams of protein.

38 comments:

  1. Oh my, those look so good! Adding to this week's meal plan. Hubby will love them!

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  2. I am a disaster zone when I have chopsticks in my hand - I would fall into that category of folks who "end up flinging the food over the other side of the table" with them! But I am a master at eating with my hands! True fact - in Sri Lanka you eat with your hands - there is a special technique to making it look elegant (and nope, I haven't mastered that yet) -most restaurants there bring out bowls of water for hand washing before and after a meal - take that chopsticks - I say!
    I love the sauces you come up with Mike - love the fresh ginger and honey combo in this glaze - would be great with turkey too!

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    1. Being able of eating gracefully with your hands is an art. I went once to an Ethiopian restaurant where you're forced to eat with your hands and I was a full-on disaster!

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  3. Mmmmm, these look delicious, especially that sauce! I bet you that would go great in a stir-fry too! :-)

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    1. Ab-so-lu-te-ly Lauren, that's actually a great idea. I'll have to try myself!

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  4. My husband would love these, I have to make 'em for him asap. Thanks for sharing Mike!

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    1. You're very welcome Sarah, I really hope they will be a success!

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  5. Those look insanely good Mike, wow!!!

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  6. I'm with you on chopsticks... I'm not a total loser, but I'm no ninja. Sometimes I resort to the stabbing method myself. And dude, can I just say in a totally platonic way... I love your balls. They look amazing! #wolfpackeats

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    1. Dude what can I say, I really appreciate your love ;)

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  7. I haven't had meatballs in ages and now I want them really bad, well actually I want these ones right here!! Yum!

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    1. You can't have as many as you want Tam, just board on that plane and get on this side of the pond. Ha!

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  8. I am not great with chopsticks, but I guess I do well enough for a native Brazilian... :-)

    great looking meatballs, I love using almond meal for meatballs and loaves, nothing beats the texture and it doesn't fight with the taste of the meat itself.

    lovely bowls too... ;-)

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    1. I know, right? Those bowls are quite something...ha!

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  9. I've really had to work at being barely passible with chopsticks, but my husband picked it up the first time he ever used them! I'm still terrible with rice, but I have no shame, and just end up asking for a fork!

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    1. There's no shame in asking for a fork, I do it all the time and I'm proud of it! ;)

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  10. These sound wonderful. Interesting thoughts about chopsticks. I know how to use them, but my hands get stuck in weird positions so I can't maneuver them well. Glad I'm not from a culture that requires their use… :-)

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    1. Ha J, it kinda feels safe to know you can resort to fork and knife if you want to.

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  11. I love eating with chopsticks! In fact, when I splurge on Asian food, the chopsticks are a big part of the experience. I just couldn't use a fork and knife, it would ruin everything.

    I think I could do an exception for those meatballs, though, and use my fingers just this once...

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    1. Sonia, you high achiever, you! I knew already you were a chopsticks master...

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  12. These sound delicious! I've pinned them and look forward to eating them with the family!

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  13. Great post, Alpha! The whole time I was reading it, "Pinball Wizard" was playing in my mind...except pinball was replaced with chopstick. ..."She's a chopstick wizard. She's got such a supple wrist." See? It kinda works, too? Anyways, I love me some meatballs and these glazed meatballs look delicious! #WolfpackEats

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    1. Weak dude, now I've got that song stuck in my head...thanks a lot! :|

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  14. These look amazing and so easy to make! I am absolutely hopeless with chopsticks, fingers all the way!

    Christy x
    another weekend without make-up

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    1. I couldn't agree more who needs forks or chopsticks when you have fingers to get the job done... ;)

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  15. Confession: I've never used chopsticks.
    Hope you don't mind if I just use a fork or my fingers on these bad boys. They look delicious. pinned!

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    1. You need to try using chopsticks, it's so much fun (though a bit frustrating at times!)

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  16. These look delish!! Almond meal what a great idea instead of bread crumbs making them tonight Thanks.
    Georgia

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    1. Almond meal adds so much flavor, I use it in lieu of breadcrumbs all the time!

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  17. I made these two nights ago and they are DELICIOUS! Used chicken mince as the supermarket didn't have any pork. The only thing I would have added was some chopped fresh coriander. The ginger running through it all was amazing.

    I made it as an entrée straight after the husband and I got home from the gym. It became his whole dinner though as while I had one serve he polished off 3! He's loving your recipes but hasn't quite mastered portion control yet. Thanks!

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    1. Whoa Ms George, that's so awesome!
      So I guess I can stamp this recipe with “The Husband Approval Seal”, right?

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  18. Made the 5 napkin meatballs and was blown away. These are delicious too! Another must make. You are quickly becoming my new culinary muse! Thank you!

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  19. I made the sauce as written, but substituted flour for the arrowroot 3:1 and I think it's too thick now-it looks nothing like your thin sauce in the pic. Any ideas how to remedy this? I'm also using beef instead of pork. Can you recommend cooking time and temp? Thx!

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    1. Why don't you try using cornstarch instead of flour? Cornstarch acts almost exactly like arrowroot so you shouldn't have problems.
      Otherwise use less flour 2:1 and if it's still too thick thin it out with some water (one tablespoon at a time!)

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