Day 23 – Countdown to Christmas 2013 Hoisin Asian Meatballs

So I’ve been on this Hoisin kick as of late. I’m totally obsessed with it. My butcher shop had fresh ground pork on sale the other day and I knew I had to make something with it. Since I’ve been in an appetizer-kinda-mood as of late and it is the holiday entertaining season, I figured it was perfect to make these an appetizer.  Now these little meatballs can be plated all fancy-like (like in the pics) or in a big ol’ crock pot on your buffet table.  Heck you can stick a toothpick in ’em and plate them that way on a plate of shredded slaw.  Mmmmm!  Actually I did that one night.  Took some shredded slaw (plain), added some hot meatballs, some of the killer sauce and added some crunchy noodles to it.  TA DA!  Instant AMAZING DINNER!

Seriously, don’t these look awesome? They are so scrumptious and SUPER easy to make!

Literally it took maybe 10 minutes to mix and roll and then another 15 min or so to bake.  Now I made these as appetizers but you could easily make this as a full blown dinner.  Imagine these mixed in with some rice noodles or lo mein noodles, some chopped scallions, maybe some water chestnuts, baby corn and crunchy fried wontons!

Yes… I had it that way too *wink*  LOL

Next, let’s dish on these most ADORABLE little spoons!  They recently opened up a new HomeGoods store in my area.  I had only ever been to one a few years ago when I was in New York. I immediately fell in love with that store. Have you ever been to one?  It’s an ‘everything’ store but at deep discounts.  However the stuff they have, at least for the Food Porn Shots (Cake plates, platters, serving bowls, these spoons, etc…) are GORGEOUS and so inexpensive! About 2 weeks after they opened I happened upon this store.  Literally I think my car saw the store before I did as it immediately started to drive towards it.  When I saw it, folks… I wish you could have seen the biggest smile I had on my face!

I was giddy like a kid on Christmas morning! As I wandered around in awe wanting to put EVERYTHING in my buggy (yes, buggy – buggy is a Pittsburgh term for shopping cart). I found these on an end cap.  They came with 4 spoons and a slate serving plate. Wanna know how much?

$2.99!

Yes, really!  The spoons are a heavy porcelain and the slate isn’t that light either. These are awesome!

So as I was making these meatballs I’m honestly not sure what I was more excited about – eating them OR using these most adorable spoons ever!

Now normally prior to a photo shoot I’ll try the foods.  That is dependent on the type of food though – can’t exactly try a quiche prior to shooting it.  Well unless you make 2.  Typically I’ll have one or even a bite then go do the shoot however that was not the case in these.  I literally inhaled 4 standing at the kitchen counter doing the “Mmm Mmm Mmm” shimmy shake dance.  Thank GOD no one was in the kitchen as they would have thought I was losing it.  Dancing to no music.  Well there was music but it was in my head/mouth.  LOL

As I plated these my smile kept getting bigger and bigger as I was falling deeper in love with these spoons.  I NEED to get back to the store and see if they have another set.  Now this isn’t something I would have for say one of our parties as I’d need about 500 of ’em and yeah… I’m not washing 500 of these but for a nice formal sit down dinner with 10 or so close friends, yeah, I would so use these.

Whether you have these spoons or not, you NEED to make these!  They Hoisin Asian Meatballs will ROCK your holidays!

Day 23 – Countdown to Christmas 2013 Hoisin Asian Meatballs

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

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Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1/2–3/4 tsp Sriracha Sauce (go with how hot you like it)
• 1/2 cup Panko or Gluten Free Panko
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 3 heaping Tbl of green onions (whites and greens) ~ 3 green onions minced plus additional for garnish
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Hoisin Sauce

• 1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
• 2 Tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tbl reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1–2 tsp honey

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F with a rack in the middle.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine ground pork, sesame oil, Sriracha, Panko, ginger, egg, garlic and green onion.
4. Using clean hands (or a clean mixing spoon) stir until combined but try not to overwork the meat.
5. Roll the mixture into 1 1/2” meatballs. I find that wetting my hands slightly helps prevent the mixture from sticking.
6. Place the meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and spray with olive oil.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165F.
8. To make the hoisin sauce, place a small sauce pan over medium heat.
9. Add in hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and honey.
10. Whisk until combined and just heated through.
11. At this point you can place the meatballs on a toothpick, dip in the sauce and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. You can also dip them and plate in little serving dishes.
12. To make a big batch, place the cooked meatballs in a Crock Pot, add in the sauce, sesame seeds and green onions and keep on low/warm.

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