When it comes to enjoying food, there’s few of us who don’t love a good meatball. Especially when they’re perfectly cooked then tossed in a honey, soy sauce and heated until they’re dark and sticky. Served with some steaming jasmine rice or slurp some soba noodles and a side of buttery French green beans, this makes an amazing meal for family or a perfect appetizer when you’re entertaining (the meatballs can be made ahead of time, who doesn’t love that?).
If you’re still frying meatballs, I urge you to try baking them. Not only does baking eliminate a bit of a greasy mess on your cooktop, but you use considerably less oil and the meatballs tend to stay juicy when they’re baked.
Use a round tablespoon measure to make quick work of shaping the meatballs. I measure them all out first, then I go back and roll them. Using a round measuring spoon as I suggested makes the whole meatball making process go a lot faster.
These meatballs also make a fantastic appetizer. Just pile them up on a platter with some toothpicks and watch everyone devour them. Or serve them for a main meal with some soba noodles. If you’ve not tried soba noodles, you must! They’re made from buckwheat flour (buckwheat is related to rhubarb and not common wheat as the name suggests) so they’re gluten-free. Traditionally soba noodles are served cold in a salad, a must-try for later.
Trust me when I say these glazed sticky little meatballs are totally addictive so be prepared. When I serve them for an appetizer, I bake the meatballs ahead of time and then toss them in their sticky honey, soy sauce right before I serve them. Whether you serve them as a main, or as a pre-dinner, cocktail snack, I know you’ll love them. Until next time, toodles xo.
- MEATBALLS
- 1 1/2 lbs (680g) ground pork
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped peeled ginger
- 1 large egg
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons crushed red peppers (chili flakes)
- pinch of salt & freshly ground pepper
- STICKY HONEY SOY SAUCE
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- To make the meatballs: Place all the meatball ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until everything is very well combined and finely chopped.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a wire rack on baking sheet spray with a little cooking spray.
- Roll pork mixture into 1tablespoon balls (you will have 48 meatballs). Place on the wire rack in a single layer. Cook for about 25 minutes or until golden and cooked.
- To make the sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a large frying pan over medium heat: stir until hot. Simmer, without stirring for 3 minutes or until thickened slightly. Add the meatballs and stir until they’re coated. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan often, until meatballs are glazed & sticky.
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