Asian Meatballs

Researching for an article takes on many different forms. Sometimes it’s routine, I know the column is due; I look around at what has been popular at work lately and pick a favorite to write about. Sometimes it’s seasonal; I write about something I really enjoy that I think you might find useful for that particular time of year. And
then sometimes, it’s love. I come across something that just lures me in and I can’t get it out of my mind until I translate it for my home kitchen. It’s like falling
in love, but you’re using only one of your senses. When I fall in love with a food, I fall hard. And I have fallen hard for Asian Meatballs.

There’s a famous Chinese restaurant in New York City called Pig Heaven. Trust me, they were not over shooting when they put heaven in the name. I have been going since I was a teen (let’s just say the 80’s) and the things they do special ie; Peking duck, spare ribs, dumplings, etc. are among the best I’ve ever had. They make a special dumpling that I didn’t discover until I fell in love with Michael (let’s just say the 90’s) I turned him on to the restaurant – which was literally across the street from his old apartment - and he in turn, turned me on to the best dumplings I ever ate.

While dumplings are not my thing, they truly are his. He orders them every time we go out for Chinese. On the average, I find dumplings to be doughy, with a chewy consistency and tasteless filling. So, unless the dumplings have sparklers going off when they arrive at the table, they usually go unnoticed by me.
However, this time, I noticed. I noticed Michael’s face automatically, I know that face, slowly nodding and smiling at the same time. That means whatever he’s chewing – I want some too. When he makes that face, I reach my fork right into his plate – thank god he finds that cute about me. They were good, they
were so good, I made a face of my very own. Then I asked our waiter for a second order.

When Michael and I moved out of the city, I missed those dumplings. When we would go back in to visit, we’d call in a pick-up order as we were preparing to leave and eat them with our fingers in the car on the way back up to Westchester. You need a little snack for the long ride ya know? For years, my In-Laws lived in the city and my Father-in-law, Dan and I share a love of good food, so trips to and ordering in from Pig Heaven was a regular treat. But now things are different, they have moved, Michael no longer works in Manhattan and if I’m going in, it’s rare and with other purpose.

My Pig Heaven dumpling intake has suffered considerably. I found myself craving them. Really craving them, had to do something. I had to try making them on my own. The flavor was so unique for a dumpling. These were made from pork, they were perfumed with ginger and garlic and had a fresh bite of scallion. I started
there and pulled a mad scientist weekend to figure out the rest. By the time I was done, I was able to duplicate the dumpling very closely. I won’t say exactly. There is a technique they use in creating the dumpling I simply cannot replicate. There really must be magic in that Pig Heaven kitchen.

I think there’s actually a pinch of magic in mine after figuring out how to whip these up. However, as most things do after I pick them up, pick them apart and start playing with them, they change, morph, adapt. No exceptions here. But when I was done I was able to make a thin skinned, pork filled dumpling that was dam delicious!

Only one problem now, they were a little bit of a monkey for my back. You see, I don’t eat starch. Well, that’s not really true, I try not to eat starch. I love it, but it doesn’t love me back. My brain goes crazy and my tongue gets wet at the thought of an enormous bowl of pasta or a really crisp French fry. But I know, everything below my brain andmy tongue will revolt if I indulge. I have pretty much adapted my lifestyle to accommodate all the foods I love and make them suitable for my no-starch lifestyle. But every once and a while, there is something worth it. Something so good, that I just say f%&k it and eat it when it’s available – suffer the consequences.

I didn’t need to add more things to my repertoire that I was going to have to talk myself out of later. Counterproductive. What if I just took the filling out? It was my favorite part. I could leave out the dough, which I couldn’t seem to master cooking properly anyway. Seemed like a win/win to me. And that’s how the worlds greatest dumpling morphed into these delicious Asian Meatballs. They are really good and I recommend you make them as an Hors d’ Oeuvres (appetizer) for your next big get together.

The raw mixture can be made ahead and frozen, will last about 2 months in the freezer. It can also be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once cooked, they will last 3 days in the fridge. The meatballs are amazing simply on their own, however, we made a crazy dipping sauce that works amazingly
as a glaze too. Great for serving to a crowd – kind of a replacement of the old Swedish Meatball party fare. This recipe uses some ingredients you might not have in your pantry, such as rice wine vinegar. It can be obtained in the international section of your supermarket. It is a great ingredient for salad dressings and marinades and I am surprised at how many times – like this one that it is just perfect for a recipe. Besides, vinegar will keep a long time, so just buy a small one. Ginger, also not
the most common ingredient, but easy enough to find. Look in your produce section near the root veggies, like carrots (which you’ll need for this recipe so grab one while you’re over there).

Ginger has a great deal of handy uses but best of all, it freezes really well. You can use what you need and stick the rest in the freezer until you need it again. I have had one in my freezer for some time and it came in super handy when I ran out while testing this recipe. If you are nauseous, eating or even just sniffing ginger will make you feel better. It looks like a brown, fat root. The skin is thin and smooth and it’s not necessary for you to remove it. You can if you want to. I used to peel it with a veggie peeler until I got my ginger grater. And that is the tool that I should really refer to as a key to making this dish.

This recipe is nothing more than a glorified meatball. It’s the flavors and textures that make it unique. There is a tool called a ginger grater, they can be found at most Bed Bath and Beyond’s in the kitchen section, on the web, Williams Sonoma has them and there are even different styles now at gourmet food stores. I like mine, it was 12 bucks has lasted 10 years and takes quite the beating. I got mine at William Sonoma. It looks like a plain white, ceramic saucer with a raised center of tiny little spikes. The outer rim of the ‘saucer’ acts as a well to catch the liquid and pulp that the center is scratching out. If you use fresh ginger, you see that it is very
stringy. Those strings do not taste good and they feel yucky in your mouth. One way around it is to chop ginger very small another is to use a ginger grater. You rub the root hard and fast across the spiky surface of the grater; the pulp and liquid are forced to the outer edge and are easy to gather. I found while playing with this recipe
that not only did the grater make fine work of the ginger, but it completely pulverized the garlic and make an almost paste out of the carrot. Perfect, just what I needed! Biting into a small sized meatball with tiny chunks of ginger, garlic and carrot, was too much texture to me. Especially when your’re dealing with ground pork, which as we know from sausage, can be sometimes a little gristly. The meatball needed the flavor from the ingredients but not the chunky texture. The grater worked
magic!

I separated the ground pork into 2 portions to begin with, it is best to do it this way, trust me. Also, if you’ve got a large fry pan – I used cast iron – the bigger the better. You can make them in batches if you only have a smaller one. Just be sure to have an ovenproof dish to put them in on the side.

Asian Meatballs
3 - 4 lbs. Ground Pork – divided in
2 equal portions
Garlic cloves – 2 small or 1 large, peeled
Fresh Ginger – approx. 3 inch long piece
4 Scallions – green and white
chopped fine
1 Carrot – peeled
1 Egg – lightly beaten
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
2 Tsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbs. Magic Oil – sub with pure olive or veggie

Using the Ginger grater, grate the garlic, ginger and carrot. The ginger will leave behind strings, just cut them off when they get in the way. Be careful when the ingredient you’re grating gets close down to your fingers. The grater can’t really cut you but those little spiky things are tough so be aware of them. If you have
disposable gloves – this is a good time to use them. In a large bowl, put the first ½ of the ground pork, the grated ingredients and the scallion. Mix together well.
Then add the soy sauce, beaten egg and vinegar. I recommend using your hands to really work the ingredients in. The mixture will be very dark and mushy.
Finally add the remaining pork and work the mixture until it is all incorporated. It will be light brown with green flecks. Still kinda mushy.

Using your hands, roll the meatballs golf ball size or smaller. When I am making meatballs, I scrape mixture from one side of the bowl, roll them and stack the completed meatballs up against the opposite side of the bowl. They pile nicely on top of each other. Place a large skillet over Med-hi heat and add Magic Oil. When the oil begins to look like it’s shimmy-ing (or you smell Magic Oil’s yummy aroma) add the meatballs starting at the center of the pan and working your way out – like a spiral. If you have a splatter screen, use it.

When searing the meatballs, they splatter a little. By the time you have laid your last meatball, check the first one in the center, it may be ready for turning. Start there and work your way out. When you’re checking to turn the meatballs, pay attention. Meat is meat, if he doesn’t give, he’s not ready. The balls will come apart if you futz with them too much or try to move ‘em before they’re ready. Leave them be and let them get good and seared on both sides.

As far as exact cooking times go, it’s difficult to say. Everyone’s ball size is going to be different – aren’t they always? Everyone’s stove, cookware, ingredient amount,
all different. You are looking for a crisp, brown sear on both sides of the meatball. It takes me approx 4-6 minutes on each side. After cooking, place them in an ovenproof casserole dish and cover it with heavy duty tin foil for 15 minutes.

Now, they are great just as they are. However, if you want to take it a little further (c’mon, you know you want to) you can use a sauce. We started with a dipping
sauce made by combining Plum Sauce with a more spicy Szechuan sauce. The brand is KAME – also found in theinternational section.

Ratio: 2 spoonfuls of Plum Sauce to 1 spoonful of Szechuan Sauce. It’s sweet with a kick, great for dipping.

Ok, but let’s just say you wanted to glaze them. That dish the meatballs are in has a nice amount of tasty liquid at the bottom, drain it into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the Plum/Szechuan mixture and a squeeze of fresh lime juice and mix until well combined. Now toss the meatballs into the bowl and coat them with the glaze. Dump back into the original oven proof dish and either serve or warm until served. They are so good they will make you want to lick your fingers. Better use toothpicks instead.