Air Fryer Country Style Ribs
February 19, 2024
Shaping a Nutritious Diet with Ground Pork
March 27, 2024Made with aromatic spices and ground pork, these Asian Pork Meatballs combine ground pork with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil, perfectly complemented by hints of green onion.
If you love these meatballs, try our Ham Balls recipe too!
Pork Meatballs Asian Style
Whether served as an appetizer or nestled in a bed of steaming rice, these meatballs promise to create the perfect meal in approximately 30 minutes.
Ground pork is an excellent choice for crafting meatballs not just because of the price per pound, but due to its flavor profile and versatility in absorbing seasonings. Using ground pork ensures moist and tender meatballs and a perfect texture of the finished product.
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Give this recipe a try tonight and pair with a rice or noodle bowl for a complete meal in under an hour. Looking for another ground pork recipe? Try our Pork Lasagna.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- Ground pork
- Minced onion
- Garlic
- Green Onion
- Ginger
- Sesame oil
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Breadcrumbs
Sauce
- Sesame Oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Rice wine vinegar
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Chinese 5 Spice Powder (see substitution in Recipe Tips)
- Cornstarch
Recipe Tips
- For a Chinese 5 Spice Powder substitute allspice
- Increase the amount of honey to sweeten the flavor of the sauce
- Garnish with sesame seeds for extra appeal
How to make Asian Pork Meatballs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients listed for the meatball portion of the recipe together in a bowl.
Make sure the ingredients are well mixed by using clean hands to form the ground pork mixture into balls approximately 1 to 2 inches in size. Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium-sized frying pan.
As the oil warms, brown the meatballs, turning them to ensure they cook but don’t burn.
After browning the meatballs, place them into a glass baking dish and put in the preheated oven for 10 minutes of additional cooking.
As the meatballs finish cooking in the oven, use the frying pan to create the sauce.
Combine sesame oil, garlic, ginger and saute 1 to 2 minutes.
Add in red wine vinegar, honey, soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice powder and bring to a boil. Once the sauce is to a full boil gently incorporate cornstarch using a whisk.
Reduce heat and continue to stir as the sauce thickens. Once meatballs have finished cooking in the oven, return them to the frying pan of sauce and gently stir until covered.
Serve warm, and sprinkle with additional garnish of sesame seeds if desired.
What to serve with Asian Pork Meatballs
Asian pork meatballs may be served on toothpicks as an appetizer or with a variety of sides as a full meal. We suggest serving with bowls of rice or noodles for a quick and easy dinner.
Other vegetable pairings for Asian pork meatballs include roasted asparagus, lemon rice salad, ratatouille or even a basic green salad.
Are pork meatballs better than beef meatballs?
Both ground pork and ground beef are commonly used for making meatballs. Utlimately the choice comes down to the recipe and/or personal preference. Using ground pork can add a bit more tenderness and moisture to the meatballs.
When working with a budget-friendly meat, ground pork is a leader of the low-cost protein options.
Other Ground Pork Recipes
Pork sausage, ground pork, BBQ sauce, and a few simple ingredients make this moist and hearty BBQ Pork Meatloaf a dinnertime favorite.
Whether as a satisfying meal or a delightful snack, these Ground Pork Quesadillas are a fusion of protein and spice that will leave your taste buds craving more.
These tender Air Fryer Pork Meatballs are made with ground pork, pork sausage, breadcrumbs, and simple seasonings and cooked to perfection in an air fryer.
Asian Pork Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1½ lbs ground pork
- 2 tbsp sweet or red onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch green onions diced
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Sauce
- 1/3 cup sesame oil
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp ginger minced
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 5 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tsp Chinese 5 Spice Powder
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients listed for the meatball portion of the recipe together in a bowl.
- Make sure ingredients are mixed, using clean hands form ground pork mixture into balls approximately 1 to 2 inches in size.
- Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium sized frying pan. As the oil warms brown the meatballs, turning them to ensure they cook but don’t burn.
- Place browned meatballs into a glass baking dish and put in preheated oven for 10 minutes of additional cooking.
- As the meatballs finish cooking in the oven, use frying pan to create sauce. Combine sesame oil, garlic, ginger and saute 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in red wine vinegar, honey, soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice powder and bring to a boil.
- Once a sauce is to a full boil, gently incorporate cornstarch using a whisk.
- Reduce heat and continue to stir as the sauce thickens.
- Remove cooked meatballs from oven and place into frying pan of sauce, gently stir until covered.
- Serve warm, sprinkle with additional garnish of sesame seeds if desired.
