Asian Meatballs

Yum. Meatballs in an Asian sauce over white rice. Woohoo. This was an experiment that turned out well, so I'm glad. I will admit, Asian flavors are not my forte. Sometimes they go well, and sometimes...they...don't. But I keep trying, hoping someday I'll get better at gauging the flavors and all. I think part of my problem is that so many Asian flavors are so strong, and I just don't know how to combine them without it becoming overwhelming. However...this time, I managed to make it work. I did a happy dance when I finally tasted it. Not gonna lie. My husband thought I was losing it, but hey. I was excited.

I also only used 1/2 lb of ground beef for my meatballs, since it was just the two of us eating. I think if you had a side dish to go with this, it would be enough for four people. It was definitely enough for three, since my husband and I both had PLENTY and I have another serving in the fridge awaiting lunch sometime soon. Anyway...I think this would be enough to feed 3-4. Double it if you need more. :) Away we go.

Ingredients:
For meatballs-
-1/2 lb ground beef
-1 egg
-1/3 cup breadcrumbs
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-2 teaspoons garlic powder
-flour for dredging (maybe 1/2 cup or so?)

For sauce-
-1 teaspoon Hoisin sauce (available in most grocery stores in the Asian food sections)
-2 tablespoons soy sauce
-2 tablespoons rice vinegar
-1 cup beef broth
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 tablespoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients (except the flour).  Make sure the ingredients are well incorporated, but don't over work the meat. That will mean tough meatballs, which is a bad thing. Pinch off small sections of the meat and roll them into meatballs, approximately 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.

Dredge each meatball in the flour until lightly coated.

Remove as much of the excess flour as possible. I did this by gently moving the meatballs from one hand to another, tapping off the flour as it moved from hand to hand.

In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium/medium high heat. Place the meatballs in the heated oil

and cook until no longer pink in center. You'll need to flip them around a couple times to brown the whole outside and so they cook evenly.

I had to do my meatballs in batches cause my skillet wasn't quite big enough for all of them, so don't worry if you need to do that too. When the meat is cooked, remove the meatballs to a plate and let them rest for a minute while you finish the sauce.

Speaking of sauce...while the meat is cooking, combine the Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, rice vinegar, and most of the beef broth in a saucepan over medium heat.

Reserve about 1/4 cup of the broth for later. Whisk the ingredients together until well combined. In a separate small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the remaining beef broth. Add this mixture to the sauce pan, stirring frequently. When the cornstarch is well incorporated, add the brown sugar to the sauce pan and whisk into the sauce. Let the sauce come to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium low so it can simmer a little bit. It should start to thicken slightly because of the cornstarch. Make sure to stir it frequently.

Remove the oil from the skillet you cooked the meatballs in. Pour the sauce into the skillet and continue stirring occasionally over medium heat. It will simmer a little bit, but don't let it get too hot or else the sugar will burn and be disgusting. The sauce should continue to thicken slightly. Add the meatballs to the skillet and coat them well with the sauce.

Continue cooking until the sauce has cooked down and become almost like a slightly liquid glaze, and the meatballs remain coated with the sauce.

Serve over rice (I used instant white rice), or rice noodles, or whatever Asian carbohydrate you prefer. The flavor of the meatballs in the sauce will be relatively strong, so a more neutral base would be best.

Yay for a successful Asian-style meal! :)