Jay French (Shatter_Sword) Offline

Chinese Meatballs Recipe

CHINESE MEATBALLS
(American Cantonese-Style meatball stir-fry)

INGREDIENTS:

Meatballs:
1 lb. Ground beef (lean content as desired)
2 to 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 to 2 Tbs fresh ginger, grated (powdered ginger is fine, just not as tasty, or you can do without if not a ginger fan)
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
Garlic Salt to taste (normally ½ tspn)
Black (or white) Pepper to taste (normally ¼ tspn)

Sauce:
¼ Cup cold water
1 Tbs Cornstarch
¼ Cup Soy Sauce
Garlic Salt/Powder to taste (remember that soy sauce is salty to begin with)
1 Tb Vinegar (Rice vinegar is standard, but white, apple cider, balsamic, wine, etc. are all good)
2 Tbs Sugar (White is standard, but brown sugar adds some depth)
Another ½ cup of water (for even better flavor, use beef broth or add beef bouillion).

Other:
Veggies: This is entirely up to you! I've done this kind of stir fry with any combination of 3 to 5 of the following, but even just one significant veggie (such as broccoli) would work: yellow onion (big chunks), green onion (sliced diagonally for pretty, and yes, it's okay to have 2 kinds of onion), carrot (also diagonal, makes 'em fancy), sliced bamboo shoots and/or water chestnuts (canned), snow pea pods, bean sprouts, broccoli (fairly small pieces, I recommend, but up to your taste), edamame beans (not whole pods, ya lunk), any color bell peppers (also big chunks), zucchini slices, sliced celery (again, do the diagonal, it's worth it), chopped cabbage (bok choy or boring), sliced mushrooms (avoid canned, they're slimy and weak), green beans (if you're cooking for someone fussy), peas, and so on. You generally want about enough to fill 2 to 3 cups, depending on your desires for meat/veggie ratios. Keep in mind that some veggies (onions, cabbages, kale, etc.) cook down smaller.
Rice or Noodles (whatever you prefer).

Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs (just mush that shit in there).
The variation in the amounts is merely a matter of taste. If you particularly like garlic or ginger, add more, and vice versa. You can also add all number of other crazy things as you like... some suggestions are Hoisin or Oyster sauce (1 or 2 Tbs), Five Spice Powder (1 tspn or so), Pre-cooked rice (not much, though, maybe just ¼ cup and add a bit more liquid, such as soy sauce, to balance it), minced onion (1 or 2 Tbs), flavored vinegar (such as balsamic, red wine or malt; about 1 Tbs), sesame oil (½ tspn) or seeds, etc.
Form into gumball-sized balls (you can go larger or smaller, just keep in mind that large meatballs need to be cooked longer and at slightly lower heat, less time for smaller balls). You can use a melon baller/scoop, but make sure you hand-form a tad before they go in the pan or there will be some really funky shaped meatballs. Unless, of course, you throw your hands in the air, and ya just don't care...
Put about 2 Tbs of your preferred cooking oil/medium in a wok (recommended) or large skillet. I lean towards straight-up canola oil with a few splashes of sesame oil. Note: Don't use sesame oil by itself, it burns. But olive oil, peanut oil (also preferred if you like it, as it's common in Asian flavors), etc. are all good. Heat oil on medium high for about a minute, then roll those suckers in there. Cook them for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how done you want them and how weird your pan is, rolling them around every minute or so. Some will recommend putting a lid on, at first, for about 3 minutes, to get the insides cooked better. This is especially useful if you made yourself have big balls.
While those are cooking you can start prepping the sauce if you didn't beforehand (because you're lazy). Start with the cold water and cornstarch, blending well, then throw the rest in. Mix. When meatballs are done, remove them to a paper towel (on a plate, dumbass) to remove some excess grease. Throw in your veggies and start stir-frying the little dickens. Note: If you're just using a pre-packaged mix of FROZEN veggies (which is fine), give them an extra 4 minutes or so in the pan to defrost, first. Otherwise, just stir those veggies around in the same medium-high heat for about 4 minutes or so (longer if you used more, but not much longer), then add the sauce. Yeah, just pour it in. It's THAT hard. It's slightly more efficient to slide all your veggies to the sides (especially if using a wok) and pour the sauce in the center, letting it get it's initial heating all by it's lonesome. Either way, it only take a couple of minutes for the sauce to heat and thicken. Then you just add the meatballs back in, stir it all up good and serve the whole mess over steamed riced or cooked noodles.
Final Note: If ya like it saucier, double that sauce. It's okay, really.