This is a wonderful recipe and it is also low in carbs. I love this Asian meatballs with sweet chili sauce recipe because I never get tired of the taste. I discovered these when I had some ground beef to use up and some other bits and pieces. Then I asked my sister for inspiration and she came up with the idea to make these delicious meatballs. Luckily I had all the ingredients I needed.
Asian Meatballs: Which Meat to Use
The meatballs can be made using ground pork, beef or even chicken or turkey if that is what you have. You can add as much or as little flavoring as you wish. Some people just like to roll the ground meat into balls and fry those, but I like to add a few seasonings to them.
Put the meat in a bowl and add whatever you like. I added an egg, some green onion, cilantro leaves, fish sauce, 5-spice and a little soy sauce. I then let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes because the meatballs hold together better when cold.
You can mix the ingredients together using your fingers or if you are like me and just painted your fingernails with glitter polish (oops) use a fork! Make the meatballs as big or as small as you want.
I used 8 ounces (225g) of meat and ended up with 8 meatballs. These took about 15 minutes to cook through. Of course if you make them bigger they will take longer. To save even more time, you can flatten them a bit in the pan and make them like mini patties.
Asian Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce: Cooking Time
Asian Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce: Cooking TimeThe thicker they are, the longer the cooking time is going to be, so bear that in mind if you are making rice or another side dish which you haven’t begun yet or which might be ready soon. Just so everything is ready at the same time, more or less.
Adding Seasonings
There are other seasonings you might like to add to the meatball mixture including fish paste, chili powder (probably unnecessary if you are serving these with chili sauce) or some 5-spice powder.
The meat has its own flavor of course so go easy on the seasonings. I like to use 80/20 meat because the extra-lean kind has much less flavor and falls apart in the pan. That works well in this Asian meatballs with sweet chili sauce recipe.
Delicious Dipping Sauce
The dipping sauce is really simple to put together. I usually buy sweet chili sauce but, to be honest, this took about 3 minutes to make and it was practically calorie free. Tasted good too!
For the dipping sauce, you need to combine the juice from a lime, some water and sweetener (or sugar if you must) and a touch of fish sauce. I also like to add half a red chili pepper and some garlic salt. That is all you need to do. Just taste it as you go, then you can see if it needs a bit more of anything.
Asian Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce: Great Serving Idea
I like to serve the meatballs over iceberg lettuce. Just tear it up into small pieces then put the cooked meatballs on top. Drizzle the chili sauce (it will be watery in consistency) over the top for a spicy, sweet, sharp tang. These all go together so well.
I also made a side dish which was some sautéed red bell pepper and water chestnuts because I wanted to add some more color to the plate. I just cut the water chestnuts into thirds, sliced the bell pepper and sautéed in oil with a touch of soy sauce too, then I spooned this on to the serving plates alongside the meatballs and lettuce.
Asian Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce
Flavorful Asian mini meatballs are served with a homemade lime and chili dipping sauce. Serve these over iceberg lettuce for a healthy, low-carb dish you will love.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
- 8 oz (230g) ground beef
- 1 beaten egg
- 1/2 finely diced green onion (optional)
- 1/2 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
- Pinch of 5-spice powder (optional)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Oil, for frying
For The Dipping Sauce
- Juice from 1 lime
- Artificial sweetener to taste (or 2 Tbsps white sugar)
- Thai fish sauce, to taste
- 1/2 cup (125ml) cold water
- 1/2 finely minced red chili pepper (optional)
- Pinch of garlic salt (optional)
Optional To Serve:
- 1/4 iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces
- 1 cup (handful) stir-fried veggies
- 2 portions fried rice or noodles
Instructions
- Put the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and combine using your fingers or a fork, until well blended.
- Chill in the bowl for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Combine the chili sauce ingredients and taste.
- Add more of any ingredient it needs.
- Shape the meat mixture into 8 meatballs and fry in oil, turning occasionally, until cooked through.
- The oil should come halfway up the meatballs and be hot when you add them to it.
- Serve the meatballs with any of the optional ingredients you like.