I'm not a huge fan of meatballs. I never understood the allure of them and usually find them pretty tasteless and boring. One night I was looking for something to make that would go well with this Vegetable Fried Rice and I wanted to stay on the healthier side, and I found this recipe from Baker by Nature with great reviews, so I thought, what the heck, I''ll give it a try.
These meatballs turned out great! An afterthought is that these could also be a great appetizer - make smaller meatballs and have the sriracha teriyaki sauce on the side for dipping (but make sure it stays warm). It's up to you, but if you're like me and you don't like regular meatballs, try these out one night and you might be pleasantly surprised! They'e super easy to make and if you cook Asian often, you should have most of the ingredients on-hand.
Ingredients (meatballs):
1 lb ground turkey (you can sub any kind of ground meat but then it's no longer "healthy")
3 garlic cloves minced
1 egg
2 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbs sriracha
1 tsp soy sauce
3 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 scallion (white part only), minced
1 cup whole wheat or regular panko
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 tb vegetable or canola oil for frying
Ingredients (sriracha teriyaki):
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs sriracha
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbs water
Optional garnish: sesame seeds and scallion
Directions (meatballs):
Preheat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients minus oil and water in a large bowl. Slowly add water to the mixture, a few tbs at a time, and combine. The mixture will be moist, but that's ok. **You may want to add 1 or 2 tsp of salt, which I did not do but I think it could use some**. Heat oil in a large skillet (you want it to simmer). Form meatballs on a flat surface, and fry them in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes on each side or until browned. Transfer meatballs to the baking sheet, bake for 10-12 minutes. If you bake them longer because you're unsure if they're cooked, don't. They will overcook!
Directions (sriracha teriyaki):
While meatballs are baking, combine soy sauce, honey, water, sesame oil, sriracha and ginger in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until honey is dissolved. Add in your cornstarch dissolved in water to the saucepan and continue stirring until combined. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened. By now your meatballs should be done so it's time to assemble.
To assemble:
One by one or a few at a time, dip meatballs in your sauce, then transfer to a serving dish. Continue until all meatballs have been dipped. Pour remaining sauce over meatballs in serving dish (you may have some sauce left over, I did not us all of it). Top with sesame seeds and scallion if desired.