Scallion Meatballs With Soy-Ginger Glaze
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup dark brown sugar
- ½cup soy sauce, preferably Japanese or reduced sodium
- ½cup mirin sweet rice wine, or ½ cup sake with ¼ cup sugar
- ¼cup chopped peeled ginger
- 1teaspoon ground coriander
- 4whole black peppercorns
- 1pound ground turkey
- 4large or 6 small scallions, finely chopped
- 1bunch cilantro, finely chopped about 1 cup
- 1egg, lightly beaten
- 2tablespoons sesame oil
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil
For the Sauce
For the Meatballs
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
69 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 380 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make sauce: Bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar melts completely. Reduce heat to medium-low and add soy sauce, mirin, ginger, coriander and peppercorns. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)
- Step 2
Make meatballs: mix turkey, scallions, cilantro, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and several grindings of pepper in a bowl. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls.
- Step 3
In a skillet over medium-high heat, generously cover bottom of pan with vegetable oil. Working in batches to avoid crowding, place meatballs in pan and cook, turning, until browned all over and cooked inside, about 8 minutes per batch. Arrange on a heated platter, spoon a little sauce over each meatball, and serve with toothpicks. If desired, keep warm in a 200-degree oven until ready to serve. Garnish with sliced scallions, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
Made this several times and loved it. Then decided I was lazy and entitled and sick of rolling meatballs, so I doubled the recipe, added 1cup panko and made it into a meatloaf. A glorious, angels-weeping, masterpiece of a meatloaf. This is seriously THE BEST thing I've ever made, and it's my husband's absolute fave - he grunts and roars and clenches his fists in dramatic fashion with every bite. And he normally eats like a 5 yr old - hates everything. Good thing he's pretty.
I've made this several times now, and like the others who have commented, I found the sauce to be much too sweet. I now use sake instead of mirin. I also use only 3 T of sugar instead of a 1/2 cup.
After cooking the meatballs, I set them aside and deglaze the pan with about 1/3 cup of sake and let it bubble for a couple of minutes. Then I add the soy-ginger sauce to the pan. Finally, I toss the meatballs back in, and serve white rice on the side. Great family dinner.
I decided to turn this into a noodle dish. Made the meatballs (added breadcrumbs to give it a little more firmness) and baked them in the oven. Fresh Udon noodles and sauteed veggies finished with fresh sauteed spinach. Top the noodles and veggies with meatballs and drizzle with hoisin sauce. A very happy 2 year old!
I've been making these meatballs for years now. The first time I had them was at a friend's house. I helped form the meatballs. I found the meat mixture too soft to really hold their shape, so when I made them at home, I took a tip from Andrea Nyugen the Vietnamese cookbook author- I toasted some raw rice (about two tablespoons) and blended them to a powder. This addition gave the meat more substance and made it easier to form balls. Tonight, I'm serving it with steamed jasmine rice and sautéed Shanghai bok choy (oil, minced ginger and garlic, then a corn starch and chicken brother slurry, white pepper to taste; classic Chinese dish).
Substituted jalapeño and lemon zest for cilantro. Delicious—next time I’m adding panko, though
Very popular as hors d’oeuvres tonight! Added 1/4 c panko, reduced white sugar to 3 T, per others’ suggestions. Convection baked at 380 on rack over foiled-cookie sheet for 17 minutes; broiled for 2 min to brown a bit. My batch made 34 turkey-balls—used ground thighs. Sauce is strong—only need a drizzle, but useful to adhere chipped scallions and sesame seeds for garnish. Rest of glaze will be delicious on meat, fish, shrimp or as stir fry sauce. A keeper!