Sweet & Spicy Pacific Rim Meatballs
- Yield: about 28 meatballs 1x
Ingredients
Scale
2 lbs. ground meat (I use ½ pork and ½ beef – but chicken or turkey also work)
1 cup store-bought teriyaki marinade, divided
2 scallions, whites and greens, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped, plus extra for garnishing
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 cup pineapple juice
1 TBSP corn starch
1 TBSP Sriracha, give or take (or other comparable hot sauce)
Jasmine rice, for serving
Slices of cold, fresh pineapple, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, ½ cup teriyaki marinade, the garlic, cilantro, scallions, and sesame oil, gently mixing just until combined.
- Spray a large sheet pan with non-stick spray (or rub with coconut oil). Scoop out 1.5” (give or take) meatballs onto the sheet and roll them in between your palms to round them out. I usually get about 28 meatballs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, create your sauce. In a large pot or deep-sided pan over medium heat, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of teriyaki marinade, the cup of pineapple juice, ½ cup water, and the Sriracha. Stir to combine. In a small bowl, combine the 1 TBSP cornstarch with 1 to 2 TBSP water; stir until it’s smooth. Once the sauce is bubbling nicely, add this cornstarch slurry and whisk whisk whisk until it has smoothed out and mixed into the sauce (it will clump some at first – don’t worry). Reduce the heat to med-low and allow the sauce to thicken some. Add the meatballs to the sauce and stir to coat.
- Serve over rice with steamed snow peas and cold fresh pineapple.