Asian Pork Meatballs
User Reviews
5
Asian Pork Meatballs
Description
Asian Pork Meatballs combine ground pork with minced water chestnuts and soaked shiitake mushrooms to add textural contrast and umami depth. The mixture is seasoned with Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and optional white pepper, then mixed thoroughly until sticky for better binding. Forming the mixture into uniform balls ensures even cooking.
Pan-frying the meatballs over medium heat until golden brown on each side develops a savory crust while maintaining juicy interiors. Water chestnuts provide occasional crunchy bites amidst the tender meat. These meatballs showcase balanced savory flavors from the soy-based seasonings and aromatic Shaoxing wine.
They can be served alone or incorporated into soups or braised dishes. Pairing with steamed rice or a simple dipping sauce complements their profile well. The recipe accommodates cooking in batches to maintain proper searing.
Uncooked meatballs freeze or refrigerate for short term storage before cooking. Reheating is best done by steaming or simmering in broth or sauce to retain moisture. Testing seasoning by cooking a small piece helps adjust saltiness before forming all meatballs.
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz ground pork (250g) Fresh or frozen mince work. Just thaw the frozen meat in the fridge overnight first. Ideally with 20% fat for the best texture.
- 10 water chestnut minced. This gives the meatballs some crunch
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms Soaked for 1-2 hours till soft, then remove the stem (which can be added to stews and soups along with the mushroom soaking water.) Mince the cap of the mushroom for the meatballs. OK to omit if you don't have these (I don't always include them.)
- 1 onion peeled and minced
Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine Or dry sherry or 1 of these rice wine substitutes
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce light
- ½ Tablespoon cornstarch Substitute: all purpose flour (Yes, I have tested making them with both types of flour!) (Corn starch is also known as corn flour in Asia but in the US, they're 2 different things.)
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt Or to taste (To test the seasoning, pinch a small part of the seasoned, mince, fry till cooked, taste and adjust.) I also like to use dried shrimps, which add umami, as a substitute for the salt if I have them on hand. (Don't add the shrimps and salt simultaneously as the meatballs may be too salty because dried shrimp already contain salt.)
- 1 pinch white pepper optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients in 1 direction till the meat has broken down and become sticky.Note: I find using my hands- you can wear gloves- helps me work more efficiently.
- Divide the meat mixture into 20 balls of approximately the same size. Note: No need to be obsessive but you can use a tablespoon to help you get more equal sizes.
- Roll each porkball in between your hands till they've formed a nice round ball.
- You can pan-fry the Asian meatballs over medium heat. Leave them untouched till the bottoms have turned brown- about 2 to 3 minutes- turn them and pan-fry to the other side.Note: make sure there's space in between each ball. You'll probably need to cook in batches.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- To enhance juiciness, boil meatballs in chicken stock to make soup.
- Simmering meatballs in carrot and tomato sauce yields very tender results and adds vegetables.
- Freeze uncooked meatballs or refrigerate up to 1-2 days before cooking.
- Cooked meatballs store in airtight container refrigerated 2-3 days; reheat by steaming or gently simmering.
- Adjust seasoning using a test fried sample before forming all meatballs.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 20meatballs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 41 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 41kcal | 2% |
| Carbohydrates | 2g | 1% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 3g | 5% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.2g | 1% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 9mg | 3% |
| Sodium | 116mg | 5% |
| Potassium | 55mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 0.3g | 1% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 1IU | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 4mg | 0% |
| Iron | 0.2mg | 1% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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