Asian meatballs
Easy Asian meatballs recipe with a sweet sticky soy sauce. Serve them as an appetizer or as a meal with rice and vegetables or a salad.
Why you will LOVE this Asian meatballs recipe
- They are covered in a sweet, slightly sticky sauce.
- Because of their size, they are the perfect party appetizer.
- Kids love them!
- You can easily double the recipe if you need more.
Ingredients
Ground meat - for the best, juicy Asian meatballs, you use a mix of ground beef and pork.
Soy sauce - soy sauce adds a salty flavor and is the base for the sauce.
Brown sugar - to thicken the sauce and caramelize it a bit, add some brown sugar. This sugar has a slight caramel flavor and gives the soy sauce a nice brown color.
Regular sugar, coconut blossom sugar, or regular granulated sugar will also work fine. I personally would not use sweetener as a substitute, preferring honey.
Breadcrumbs or panko - breadcrumbs give some firmness to the meatballs and, together with the egg, make sure your meatballs are less likely to get dry.
Instead of breadcrumbs, you can also use panko or a slice of old bread.
Flour - the flour in the sauce thickens the sauce and sticks well to the meatballs. You can also use cornstarch for this purpose.
You can find the complete ingredient list and instructions on the recipe card below!
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, mix the minced meat, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, ginger, pepper, and a little salt.
Turn small balls of the minced meat. I prefer to make them 3-4 inches in size.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the balls until cooked. In my case, this took about 7-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together the caster sugar, ginger powder, vinegar, water, and soy sauce.
Once the meatballs are cooked, pour in the sauce and simmer gently until the sauce has the desired thickness.
Pro tips for the perfect Asian meatballs
- Use a mix of ground meat. Half pork and half beef gives the best result.
- Milk or water. Adding 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk to the minced meat will make them less likely to dry out. This is especially helpful if you are only using beef mince.
- Don't mix too long. Knead until all the ingredients are well mixed, but no longer. This will prevent your meat from becoming tough.
- Sear the meatballs quickly.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl to mix the minced meat.
- Dutch oven or skillet, I personally prefer to use this BK Dutch oven when making meatballs.
- Cutting board.
Storage
In the refrigerator, these balls will keep for about 2-3 days. If you want to keep them longer, it is better to freeze them.
Divide the balls into portions and put them in freezer bags or containers. After freezing, they will stay good for about three months.
Before serving, remove them from the freezer and let them thaw slowly in the refrigerator. Warm them up in a skillet or the microwave.
More meatball recipes
Asian meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 11 oz ground beef
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 2 cloves garlic pressed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon dark sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the minced meat, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, ginger, pepper, and some salt.
- Turn the minced meat into small balls. I prefer to make them 3-4 cm in size.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the meatballs until cooked. For me, this took about 7-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.
- Once the meatballs are cooked, pour in the sauce and simmer until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
LOOKS DELICIOUS! Bookmarking this for later.
Such a wonderful idea! I’ll bookmark this for the holidays. Yum!
love a good meatball recipe and adding asian ingredients it great
This recipe looks and sounds so delicious. Thanks so much for sharing. 🤗
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)