I am a fan of quick and easy meals. As much as I want to cook, I don’t want to be tied up for long hours in the kitchen preparing a meal.
I want a dish that is delicious, subtantial and takes a reasonable amount of time to prepare and this dish fits the bill. I did not know before how easy it is to make this, I used to think that it’s complicated but it’s not. You can make it faster than ordering a pizza or any fastfood.
You can make a variety of dishes using a batch of meatball. I usually divide it into portions for my daughter’s baon for lunch. It’s great as toppings for pasta or for mini sub-sandwiches using hotdog or hero buns or make a different sauce to go with it.
These meatballs can be made ahead, form the balls, cook it, cool then freeze. You can also try freezing them raw, these are great for soups, thaw them partially and drop them into the pot of hot broth.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
FOR MEATBALLS:
- 1/2 kilo Ground Pork or 1 pound
- 1 tsp Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning optional or use less
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Ginger Powder
- 2 pc Sliced Bread
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1/3 cup Water
FOR SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:
- 1 can Pineapple Chunks 15 oz / drain and reserve pineapples)
- 1/3 cup Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 Red Bell Pepper sliced into chunks
Instructions
FOR THE MEATBALLS:
- Heat a non-stick pan / skillet on low fire.
- While that is heating, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a big bowl except for the milk, bread and water.
- Put milk in a small bowl, soak the bread slices in it; squeeze out excess milk, then add the milk-soaked bread in the meat mixture, mix thoroughly until well combined then stir in the water to soften the mixture.
- Form mixture into 1-inch balls; I made small meatballs so it will cook fast (that’s about a tablespoon of meat/ball).
- Cook meatballs in the already hot non-stick pan; increase to medium low heat.
- if you are not using non-stick pan, add about a tablespoon of cooking oil in the hot pan before adding the meatballs. Cook until brown.
FOR THE SAUCE:
- You may do this in a separate saucepan while the meatball is cooking or wait for the meatballs to cook and use the same pan for the sauce like I did (I hate washing dishes), just discard the oil from frying before adding the sauce ingredients.
- Combine pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar and ketchup in the pan, stir and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl, stir and pour in the sauce mixture.
- Bring to a boil and add in pineapple and red bell pepper.
- Add the cooked meatballs and let simmer for about a minute before transfering to a serving platter.
- Serve hot with steamed rice. Yumm!
