Cook with Us #23: Asian Meatballs with Hoisin Sauce

I couldn’t be more excited about the @docsmith Handcrafted Knife Contest. And I’m definitely looking forward for the next week which are going to be quite challenging to say the least. For this first leg of the contest I didn’t want to go overboard or all crazy on the bitesize challenge. It was a matter of being measured but provide a dish which was enticing and tasty. It is not common in my culture to have heaps of finger foods at a party. We would instead have a large main and extravagant desserts. But it is different in my husband’s culture where finger foods are important to help set the mood of the evening.

This weekend is Father’s Day in Australia. So I’ve tried to get on early with preparing the Bitesize challenge. The advantage with the dish I’ve chosen (from The Kitchen Whisperer) is that it is fairly simple and does not require much time. And that was an important factor in choosing this dish beside the fact that I ran out of cooking oil. But that’s ok because the meatballs will be oven-baked! 

I remember the first time I had my husband’s family over. For the occasion I’ve prepared Pork chops and a delicious dessert made out of Nutella. They brought some Asian BBQ Pork as a starter. I didn’t quite understand why as we were already having pork for dinner. But through time attending various Mauritian parties I’ve discovered that more finger foods was well always better. Most of them would be bitesize and others not so much. And at the end of it, most plates would be cleaned up empty and they would still go have their main and dessert.

As a result, the second sit down party I organised at home I went all out with plenty of finger foods and nibbles. Everyone enjoyed them and we hardly had any left overs for the night. Through that experience I’ve always attempted to have a right balance of bitesize food and the rest of the meal. For me bitesize foods are not an entrée but definitely what we commonly called finger foods in Australia. Traditionally in Aussies parties you may have meat pies or dips or even wedges. At my Indian friends I would be greeted with Samosas, deep fired bhajas, like vegetable fritters, or mini-roti (purris). The Mauritian parties would have more meat based finger foods, normally pork or sometimes seafoods. Interestingly most of them would have an element of Asian food to serve.

 

This is why I thought an Asian based finger food would be an interesting element to bring to the challenge. While researching some recipes for this week I came across the Asian Meatballs with Hoisin sauce. I’ve been introduced to Hoisin sauce whilst visiting a Vietnamese restaurant for a nice hot Pho. The sauce was an important part of the dish and I’ve tried it again afterwards when having Peking Duck.  As for the Meatballs I’ve prepared a fair bit over the years but always the European way. Adding an Asian element to it was an interesting twist and I thought it complement the taste fabulously. 

Earlier I’ve mentioned that I was being measured for the first leg of the @docsmith challenge. This came about after viewing an old series of The Australian Greatest Bake Off. It was the 2016 edition! One of the contestant, explaining her approach to cake making, made the following comment:"Before this show I always thought of the look of the cake rather than what goes into making the cake. I’ve learned to do the opposite now."

I’ve tried to learn from this. The Asian Meatballs tasted amazing and the addition of the Hoisin sauce took it to a whole new level. I didn’t plan on having any chilli on it but then rescinded on my initial thought and added some fresh red chilli to complement the whole dish. I’m grateful I did as they were amazing.

I hope you enjoy it too!

Bon appétit!

And good luck to everyone.

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs

• 1/2 kg ground pork
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1/2-3/4 tsp Sriracha Sauce (go with how hot you like it)
• 1/2 cup Panko or Gluten Free Panko
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 3 heaping Tbl of green onions (whites and greens) ~ 3 green onions minced plus additional for garnish
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Hoisin Sauce

• 1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
• 2 Tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tbl reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1-2 tsp honey

 

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 205 degrees Celsius with a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground pork, sesame oil, Sriracha, Panko, ginger, egg, garlic and green onion.
 
3. Using clean hands (or a clean mixing spoon) stir until combined but try not to overwork the meat. Roll the mixture into 1 1/2” meatballs.
 
4. Place the meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and spray with olive oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 75C.
   
5. To make the hoisin sauce, place a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add in hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and honey. Whisk until combined and just heated through.
 
6. Place the meatballs on the soup spoon, dip in the sauce and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. You can also dip them and plate in little serving dishes.