Ginger-Braised Meatballs in Coconut Broth

These meatballs are at the same time comforting and refreshingly different!

As summer comes to an end and we are more comfortable turning our stoves on, I urge you to try this meal. I’d say it takes moderate effort, but the results are big on flavour and quantity, so you save some for another night when you don’t feel like cooking. A friend made this for us when we visited for dinner and I could not get enough. Asian cuisine is something I have to be really careful with because of my allergies, and so making dishes at home is always my best bet. For this recipe I got to make fish-free fish sauce, which I have been meaning to try for a long time.

We’ve got ourselves a family favourite right here!

Ingredients

Meatballs

900g ground pork

2 eggs

2 tablespoons panko

2 tablespoons minced ginger*

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fish sauce or “fish” sauce

2 tablespoons sea salt

Broth

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (396mL)

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup ginger, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 Thai red chile, slit open

1 stalk lemongrass**

Zest and juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon of sugar

500g Greens like spinach or kale, chopped (optional)

Toppings

Lime wedges

Chopped Thai chiles (quick pickle in vinegar while you work on the rest of the meal)

Fresh cilantro, mint, and/or basil leaves

*Notes

*peel the ginger using a spoon to scrape off the skin

**peel off the outer layers of the lemongrass stalk, trim the very bottom and then use only the bottom 10 cm or so.

Ginger-Braised Meatballs in Coconut Broth

Servings 6 Time 1 hour

Recipe adapted from Jenn Louis

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and combine with your hands. Form them into balls that measure about 4 cm (1.5 inches) across. I use a ice cream scoop to easily keep them all the same size.

Bake on cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper, for about 15 minutes.

To make the broth, combine the coconut milk, stock, ginger, garlic, slit chile, lemongrass, lime zest and juice, “fish” sauce and turmeric to a large saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and season with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Remove the lemongrass. If you don’t want it too spicy, remove the slit chile as well.

Add the meatballs to the broth and simmer for about 15 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, stir in the chopped greens. In the photo, you see baby spinach.

Serve over jasmine rice, or whatever rice you have at home. Top as desired.