I love these meatballs. They take just a bit of time, but the effort is really worth it. I first made a version of these meatballs based on the Donna Hay recipe from her Simple Dinners Cookbook – and I liked the recipe a lot without much change. But in the past two years I’ve slightly adapted and simplified the recipe, making it a viable weekday dinner.
The meatballs are juicy, the sesame seeds give a bit of crunch and the ginger, lemon grass and hoisin give the meal a wonderful flavour. I pair the meatballs with egg noodles, which makes it an easy sell for my kids. But this would work with any kind of Chinese noodles or you could serve the meatballs on their own at a party.
Ingredients
- 1 box/bag of egg noodles or Singapore noodles
- 500g ground pork
- 1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 heaping tablespoon of finely grated ginger
- 1 heaping tablespoon of finely grated lemongrass
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- Cilantro and red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Place the pork, breadcrumbs, ginger, lemongrass, hoisin and sesame seeds in a bowl and mix to combine. Shape tablespoons of mixture into balls. Heat vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 6-8 minutes each side or until cooked through and no longer pink. Set aside.
- While batches of meatballs are cooking, cook the noodles according to packet instructions and try to time them close to when your meatballs will be done.
- Wipe out the pan with absorbent paper and add the sesame oil and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the noodles, fish sauce, chicken stock, soy sauce and meatballs and toss to heat through.
- Divide between bowls and top with cilantro and red pepper flakes.
Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled and batches of meatballs frozen for future use.
