Teriyaki Meatballs

Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe

The working week rolls round again and the boys are back at school. And so it begins. The constant round of suppers which need to satisfy everyones never ending list of wants. In our house the dietary requirements range from only wanting to eat pasta, to only wanting to eat two minute noodles, to no green vegetables to only eating vegetables (oh that’s me, another faddy diet). So, rarely do I manage to satisfy more than two out of the four diners in our house. Apart from Teddy, of course, who will eat anything at all, as long as it’s been dropped from one of my children’s plates.

So, with this in mind, and rambling aside, I give you the recipe for Teriyaki Meatballs. I have had this link in my Pinterest To Try section for absolutely ages, and I don’t know what took me so long to make it. Because now I have, I will be making it again and again. The lightly spiced pork meatballs are baked, so no risk of them falling apart in the frying pan, then coated in a wonderful sweet, teriyaki glaze. These are then served on a bed of rice or noodles, and on the table in less than 45 minutes. A winning supper in my mind. And this comes courtesy of the frugal website Budget Bytes, so I think that speaks for itself on the value for money front.

These Teriyaki Meatballs were met with a very positive response from both the boys, and a sad face from Clyde who was disappointed they weren’t for his supper and we were having fish.

Here is the reasonably priced line up for these tasty Teriyaki Meatballs. Nothing too troublesome, pretty much all store cupboard favourites and some lovely fresh pork mince. I go with Lazy Ginger from a jar as fresh always goes off at the back of my veg drawer, but do please use fresh ginger if you are better at preserving it than me.

Make a start by taking the garlic and ginger and chopping it finely by hand, or with your tiny chopper machine.

Then blitz the slice of bread into breadcrumbs with the same tiny chopper or by grating it.

Put the flavoursome garlic and ginger and crumbs into a big bowl. Then follow them in with the fresh pork mince, an egg, soy, sesame oil and salt and pepper.

Give this tasty mixture a good mix then go in with your hands, wetted works best, and fashion it into around 30 meatballs. Place these tiny balls onto a lined baking sheet.

Pop them into the oven for around 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

While these are baking, crack on with the sauce. It is more of a glaze than a sauce, sweet, savoury and delicious. Start by taking two tablespoons of cornflour and mixing it into a thin paste with 3-ish tablespoons of water.

Then add the 125ml water, soy sauce and brown sugar to a medium sized pan. Add the finely chopped ginger and heat gently until the sugar has just dissolved.

Add the sesame oil and rice vinegar to this fragrant blend, stir, then pour in the liquid cornflour mixture. Whisk well to ensure there are no lumps. Let the sauce bubble and thicken for a moment or two.

Stir in the sesame seeds and then that’s the delicious teriyaki glaze ready for the meatballs.

And here are those meatballs, all crisp and golden. Pop them into the pan of sauce and stir to ensure each ball is well coated.

Serve these glazed balls of pork loveliness with a big bowl of rice or noodles and garnished with chopped spring onions.

These meatballs have so many redeeming qualities, who wouldn’t love such a flavoursome, quick, easy and value for money dish. Such a simple, but tasty supper, I wished I had made them sooner, and now I have, I think they will feature on the menu at least weekly.

Lucy x

Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe

You will need a lined baking sheet and a saucepan

Serves 3 to 4, stomach size dependent

Meatballs

500g pork mince

1 egg

1 slice bread

2 cloves garlic

2 inches fresh ginger, grated or a tablespoon lazy ginger from a jar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

salt and pepper

Teriyaki Sauce

125ml soy sauce

100g brown sugar

125ml water

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 inches fresh ginger, grated or a tablespoon lazy ginger from a jar

2 tablespoons cornflour, mixed with 2 to 4 tablespoons water

1 heaped tablespoon sesame seeds

Rice or noodles to serve and sliced spring onions to garnish

Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees fan assisted. Take the garlic and ginger and chop finely, by hand, or in one of those tiny chopper affairs. Then blitz the slice of bread into breadcrumbs in the chopper or grate if you are doing this by hand. Add these blitzed items to a large bowl and add the pork mince and egg. Then add the sesame oil and soy sauce and salt and pepper to season then give it all a good stir. Then go in with your hands – wet hands works best – to finish the job and to roll the mix into around 30 balls. Place these balls onto a lined baking sheet and bake for around 20 minutes or until golden and no longer pink in the middle.

While these are cooking, crack on with the glaze/sauce. Take the two tablespoons of cornflour and carefully mix in 2 to 4 tablespoons of water to make a thin paste. In a medium sized sauce pan add the soy sauce, brown sugar and water. Add the grated or finely chopped ginger and heat gently until the sugar has just dissolved. Add the rice vinegar and sesame oil then add the cornflour/water paste and whisk thoroughly so lumps do not form. Cook this sauce for a couple of minutes until thickened then stir in the sesame seeds.

When the meatballs are cooked through, drop them into the sauce and coat well. Serve this with a big bowl of noodles or rice, garnished with finely chopped spring onion.