Sweet N Spicy ‘ Asian Style’ Meatballs

So, yesterday was a fun day for me. You guys know I have a thing for pork, and all things meatball like, or stuffed lol

I wanted to do something a little bit different. Lately my husband and I have been frequenting this restaurant and we love the combination of sweet and spicy flavors in different kinds of meat mixtures…especially loaded with lots of vegetables.

Lately it’s been so cold and rainy we wanted those flavors but did NOT feel like going out!!!

AND I have even been growing an indoor garden lol look! How pretty right? Basil, cilantro, parsley, mint and dill! So this recipe is inspired by 1) my herbs 2) my laziness (lol) and 3) my love for all things sweet and spicy!

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Prep time: 10 minutes| Cook time: 30 minute| Total: 40 minutes

**Note, in this recipe i seared my meatballs, If you prefer you can bake them but I think they are much juicier if you opt to searing them. And they taste much better to have a sear on them, especially in this recipe!

Meatball mixture:

• 2lbs of ground pork
• Lots of garlic
• ½ brown or white onion diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro chopped
• 3 serrano chili’s for spice diced
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• extra virgin olive oil

Seasonings to taste

• 1 tablespoon of spicy garlic pepper
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crushed red pepper to taste.

Meatball sauce:

• Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Sliced
• Your Favorite Sweet and Spicy Sauce
• 2 cups of Chicken Stock

Jasmine Rice–You can put these meatballs over rice or pasta. In this case I used Jasmine Rice. 

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DIRECTIONS:

Meatball mixture. Place your meat and all your necessary ingredients in a bowl and mix!

Season!

 

Ok TIME TO IMPROVISE! I looked in the cabinet and saw that I had NO BREAD CRUMBS!!! Bit you know what? croutons work JUST FINE! #Resourceful lol

 

ELEPHANT GARLIC VS. REGULAR GARLIC lol I learned that the elephant garlic is actually apart of the onion family so it is not technically REAL garlic! How cool is that? Doesn’t matter, just use both if you want lol

 

In a skillet, heat up extra virgin olive oil and proceed to sear your meatballs until they’re brown.This should take about 5 minutes. Dont worry about them being cooked all the way through, your meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce. Once your meatballs are brown on all sides, remove them from the pan.

This is the brand of jasmine rice i used. Just follow the cooking directions on the back. I also used chicken stock to cook the rice. 

So to the left you will see the sauce i used.

 

Once I removed the meatballs from the pan, i added the diced bell peppers and used the drippings from the pan to cook them down for about 5 minutes or until they are a little soft. 

Now add your meatballs and about 2 cups of chicken stock and the ENTIRE bottle of sweet and spicy sauce to the pan.

I added some green onion, this is an optional ingredient. Cook the meatballs covered for about 20 minutes.

Now serve over rice! (or pasta)