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Asian pork meatballs are on the menu this week! When I was making these, I was thinking of a dish I had at a Vietnamese restaurant. These asian pork meatballs remind me of a dry rice noodle dish with a spicy sweet and tangy fish sauce drizzled throughout. Kind of like a banh mi or similar. They’re also really versatile in how they can be eaten or they can be made in bulk and you can save them in the freezer for a busy night! Or quick and easy meatball appetizers for a party!
Can I use another ground meat?
I highly recommend ground pork. It’s just more flavorful.
It’s slightly fattier than ground chicken and less fattier than ground beef (depending on the type you get).
It’s just a good in-between and the flavors go better with ground pork.
What if I can’t find mijiu or shaoxing?
The best substitutes are dry sherry, mirin, or cooking sake.
I can’t have alcohol
I understand and you can definitely omit it, but since this is a key ingredient in this dish, I can’t guarantee results without it.
Can I bake the Asian pork meatballs on a baking sheet instead of a cast iron skillet?
Yes, definitely!
Can I make this ahead time?
You can. I like putting them on a large baking sheet and wax paper then cover the baking sheet and putting it in the fridge.
I would really only do this overnight; nothing more.
How do these reheat?
Not that great. They can get tough.
Can you freeze these?
Yes! I’ve made extra before.
Rolled them into ball shapes and put them into freezer bags (raw, not cooked).
Can you use Asian pork meatballs for filling inside potstickers?
I suppose you could, just don’t make them into meatballs.
My meatballs are really tough
You overworked the meat.
How do I make my meatballs into even sizes?
Use a cookie scoop that you designate as your “meat” scoop.
Or just use the same measuring spoon size, i.e. two tablespoons.
What can you eat with these?
You could make a noodle bowl with the Asian pork meatballs, like how I envisioned them initially!
I imagine them on a bed of rice noodles and some cabbage or bok choy or mushrooms or all of the above!
White rice would be good too.
Could you make these for lettuce wraps?
Yes! I would maybe smash them up a bit since meatballs are kind of big for bib lettuce.
Asian Pork Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) ground pork
- 1 ½ tablespoons mijiu or shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- 1 stalk of scallion, diced
For the dipping sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce
- Splash fish sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (191 °C) and line a large baking sheet with wax paper.
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients of the meatballs then using your hands, gently combine everything together, being careful to not overmix.1 pound (454 g) ground pork, 1 1/2 tablespoons mijiu or shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon ginger paste, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoon chili sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder, 1 stalk of scallion
- Using a medium cookie scoop (or two tablespoons), form into balls and place onto wax paper.
- In a large cast iron skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the skillet and brown two sides, making sure you don’t cook the meatball entirely.
- Once browned, place in oven to finish cooking through, about 10-13 minutes.
- Once done, remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and use for meatballs.2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon chili sauce, Splash fish sauce
Great flavors but many fell apart with only two sides browned. I guess I’d add egg or something next time.
The recipe calls for “chili sauce” in both the meatballs and the dipping sauce. What kind of chili sauce? Do you mean the sweet and spicy Thai chili sauce, Heinz style chili sauce, spicy chili/garlic sauce the is similar to Sriracha? There are so many kinds.
hi, sorry for the confusion. it is this chili sauce from Huy Fong: https://www.target.com/p/huy-fong-chili-garlic-sauce-8oz/-/A-13473416
What would happen if we overmix?
the meatballs will turn out extremely tough
Yum! Loved. We have some dietary restrictions in the family- these were easy to adapt and still tasted great- thank you!
Yummy, put meatballs in a Raman Soup. Yummy