meatballs with an asian kick

perfectly delicious on their own

I know what you're thinking - where's the sauce?  But trust me these meatballs are so flavourful and bursting with juices, you don't need to make a sauce for them.  The idea came from the Korean Meatballs from the show Recipes to Riches - a mommy friend has brought them twice to our lunch playdates and they are super tasty and easy to eat.  

These are best served as soon as they are done baking in the oven (we ate a few last night for dinner!) - but still great heated up in the microwave the next day (just made Ryan a wrap for lunch with them).  I am bringing them to our weekly potluck lunch playdate today - I really should be leaving now but Madi is sleep napping away. So I thought I'd blog while I wait!

what you need:

*makes about 40 meatballs

• 1 kg lean ground beef
• 1 large carrot
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1/2 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tbsp chili soy paste *optional
• 1 1/2 tbsp naturally brewed soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• freshly ground black pepper
• cooking oil (canola)

what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Prepare vegetables by cleaning and peeling, then dice finely.  Put diced veggies (onion, celery, carrot) in a large bowl, and grate garlic into the bowl.  
3. Add the ground beef into the bowl.
4. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk egg with the rest of the ingredients (except the cooking oil) - pour into the large bowl and using your hands, work the ground beef, veggies, and egg mixture until evenly incorporated (don't overwork the mixture, it will make the meatballs tough). 
5. Form meatballs with your hands (just bigger than a golf ball) and place them on the lined baking sheet.
6. In a nonstick pan on medium heat, drizzle a little cooking oil (about 2 tsp) - and lightly brown the meatballs in batches (don't overcrowd the pan!).  Once they are lightly browned on all sides, transfer gently back onto the lined baking sheet (they can be side by side for this part, so they should all fit on one sheet).
7. Bake in oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking the middle - cut one at 10 minutes to be sure the middle is cooked.  Remove from oven, and immediately transfer to serving dish.  Enjoy!

ready for a quick pan-fry for browning 

stick a toothpick in them for a party appetizer