Servings
7
Ingredients
The Meatballs:
- 700g gram lean ground pork
- Chinese Cabbage, 3 cups, thinly sliced, lightly salted and stirfried to soften.
- Shiitake Mushrooms ~24 caps. Other Crunchy Asian vegitables such as bamboo shoots or water chestnuts can substitute. Sweet red peppers julienned and diced can also be substituted which present an interesting color effect.
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg white
- 4 scallions, minced; can substitute green onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Grated Ginger, ~2 inch piece
- 3 tbsp soy souce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- Salt and black pepper to taste
The Sauce:
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 2-3 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
To Serve:
- lettuce leaves
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 205C (400F).
- Line a baking pan with parchment (lightly olive oiled works in a pinch).
- Stir fry the cabbage in a hot skillet with 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp salt until softened ~ 4 minutes. Transfer the cooked cabbage to a plate to cool
- Stir fry the thinly sliced mushrooms (or peppers) in the skillet with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper stirring occasionally til lightly browned (or the peppers are softened) ~ 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the cooked cabbage to cool.
- Combine the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl,
- Lightly beat the eggs and egg white in a large bowl. Add the pork, green onion and the contents of the small bowl. Mix to combine.
- Add the cabbage and mushrooms with a few grinds of fresh pepper and hand mix until just combined (don't overmix)
- With dampened hands, shape the meat mixture into 18 meatballs (about 5 cm in diameter) arranging them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together, setting a 1/2 cup for serving. Brush the meatballs with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until cooked through, 18-22 minutes. Serve in lettuce leaves with the reserved sauce. (The meatballs can also be baked sans-sauce and served with the sauce on the side depending on individual tastes.)