Turkey Meatballs Asian Style

Turkey Meatballs Asian Style

Ingredients for Meatballs:

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey breast
• 4 oz. mushrooms (whole or sliced)
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/8 c. zucchini, grated (you can substitute this for any other veg. you’d like)
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/2″ piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• small handful fresh corriander (cilantro)
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. Devo Japanese Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 2 tbsp. bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds (optional)
• vegetable oil, for searing meatballs

Directions for Meatballs:

1. Combine mushrooms, onions, carrots, zucchini, garlic, ginger and cilantro in the bowl of a food processor. Process until everything is finely minced.
2. In a large bowl, add the ground turkey and vegetable mixture.  Stir to combine.
3. Once everything is well mixed, add soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, white pepper, bread crumbs and sesame seeds.  Mix everything together everything is well combined.
4. Form meat mixture into balls.
5. In a heavy bottomed pan, preferably cast iron, add a little oil. Turn the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add a few meatballs to the pan.  Be careful not to overcrowd them.  Once the meatballs begin to brown, turn them so that all sides begin to color.  About 2 minutes.  Once the meatballs have browned, remove them from the pan and set aside.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Once all the meatballs have browned, arrange them on a baking sheet.  Bake the meatballs for about 10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
7. Add the meatballs to the sauce (below) and enjoy.

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 1 3/4 c. chicken stock, divided
• 1/4 c. sake (optional.  If not using sake, substitute with chicken stock)
• 1-2 tsp. Devo Japanese Toasted Sesame Oil, to taste
• 2-3 tbsp. brown sugar (more if you like a sweeter sauce)
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
• tiny splash of rice wine vinegar
• salt/pepper, to taste (you probably won’t need additional salt)

Directions for Sauce: 

1. Using the same pan that you used to brown your meatballs, add 1 cup of chicken stock, sake, sesame oil, brown sugar, and soy sauce.  Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil.
2. While you wait for the sauce to boil, add 3/4 c. chicken stock and 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch into a jar.  Twist the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until the cornstarch dissolves in the chicken stock.
3. Once the sauce mixture comes to a boil, give the cornstarch mixture a good shake and then whisk it into the sauce.  Also add the rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Keep whisking the sauce until it thickens up to your desired consistency.  If it gets too thick, add a little water.