Asian Meatballs
On the weekdays we try and eat light and then when the weekend comes we let go a little, it’s the only way I can sort of diet. This is one of my go to recipes for the weekdays, it’s very flavourful yet very lean as I use ground turkey. Normally you would serve it with rice but we eat it atop my Cauliflower Rice, a much leaner way to go, yet very filling.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
2 lbs of ground turkey- you could also use ground beef or pork or a mix
1/2 cup breadcrumbs, panko if you have on hand
2 tablespoons finely minced or grated fresh ginger
2 eggs
3 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 cup of thinly sliced green onions
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
Sauce:
2/3 cup of hoisin sauce
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup of agave syrup or honey- you may need more, it just depends on how sweet you want your sauce
1 cup of water
Garnish with chopped chives, shredded fresh basil or cilantro.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all the meatball ingredients until well combined. Shape into balls, about 1.5 inches in diameter, you should get about 35 meatballs. Place meatballs onto baking sheet and then into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.
Rolled and Raw Meatballs
3. While meatballs are baking, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a medium/large sized sauce pan until blended. (Use a larger sized pot because you will need room to add the meatballs, once cooked, to the sauce.) Bring sauce up to a simmer and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Baked Turkey Meatballs
4. Once the meatballs are cooked add to the sauce and coat well. Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks or as a main dish like we do with the cauliflower rice, basmati white or brown rice and a vegetable on the side, like broccolini or broccoli. Garnish with chopped fresh chives or shredded fresh basil.
