Kitchen Little Essentials
What you’ll need to make these Sweet & Spicy Pacific Rim Meatballs
I’m calling these Sweet and Spicy “Pacific Rim” meatballs, because really there is no specific country on the map to which I can credit all of the flavors and ingredients. They’re not Japanese, they’re not Thai or Malaysian, they’re not Hawaiian – but they’ve got influences from all of the above, and more.
We’re going to turbo boost the flavor of these saucy meatballs with the help of a flavorful store-bought teriyaki marinade. You could, of course, build your own teriyaki marinade and go with that, but these are meant to be quick and easy – and they are. Just grab your favorite brand of teriyaki marinade and you’ll be good to go. I opt for the “pineapple teriyaki” variety because we’re carrying that pineapple flavor on throughout the whole recipe.
How to make these Sweet and Spicy Pacific Rim Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. ground pork or chicken. NOTE: You can use any combination of ground meat that you have or that is available. This is a pandemic, and meat is becoming increasingly tricky to find, so meatballs are a great, flexible way to use whatever you can find.
- Pineapple juice
- Herbs: fresh cilantro and scallions
- Garlic
- Sesame oil (another massively flavorful ingredient)
- Corn starch, as a thickener for the sauce
- Rice and steamed snow peas for serving (optional)
These teriyaki meatballs are really fast to make, which is why they’re a regular in my kitchen little. Rather than parsing out all of the individual pan-Asian ingredients that you’d need to build this type of flavor, we’re going to take some help from the store and use a good teriyaki marinade. We’ll add 1/2 cup to 2 pounds of ground meat (I use pork or chicken, typically)
These Sweet and Spicy Pacific Rim Meatballs meatballs are such a perfect weeknight meal because they’re a winner with just about everyone and they only take a few minutes and a handful of relatively simple, inexpensive ingredients to throw together. So, they qualify as a quick-fix and budget friendly – which we love.
If you like the sounds of this recipe, you might want to try:
Easiest Hands-Off Spaghetti and Meatballs
Here is a ready-made pin for you! Simply save it to your “Weeknight Dinners” board and you’ll be good to go when the craving strikes.
Sweet & Spicy Pacific Rim Meatballs
- Yield: about 28 meatballs 1x
Ingredients
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.
