Asian pork meatballs- easy recipe with Chinese BBQ sauce (2024)

I love making Asian pork meatballs because they are so easy to make and delicious.

When I say “Asian style,” I am not referring to any specific Asian country’s recipe. Instead, This recipe is developed based on my preference and does not replicate any existing recipe. However, the recipe will be Chinese-style since I mostly cook Chinese and Malaysian food.

Note: While I use pork to prepare the meatballs, some may prefer a pork-free recipe. Please substitute it with chicken thigh meat and follow the same steps in the recipe.

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1. Ingredients necessary to prepare the meatballs

To make these Asian-style meatballs, follow these simple techniques to ensure they turn out tender.

a. How do you choose and prepare the meat?

Although I use pork to make these easy pork meatballs, you can use ground chicken, beef, or ground turkey instead. The key to making juicy meatballs is to include some fat in the ground meat. Using one part of fat for three parts of lean meat will yield the best result. Adding finely chopped chicken skin can make ground chicken meatballs more tender. Additionally, ground chicken thighs will yield more tender meatballs than breast meat due to their higher fat content.

It is time-consuming and quite tiring to mince or ground the meat, although you can use a food processor to grind it. Therefore, ask the butcher to do it for you or buy store-bought ground meat as a more convenient option.

However, whether you use a food processor or store-bought ground pork, the texture differs from manually minced pork. Therefore, I briefly minced the ground pork on the chopping board to further break down the connective tissue. In addition, I then repeatedly smashed the meat mixture into the bowl. This process is called “dat” 挞 in Cantonese. It will further break down the meat’s connective tissue and make it more tender.

b. Other meatball ingredients required

Here’s a list of ingredients in this Asian pork meatball recipe to make delicious meatballs:

• Garlic: Chop a few garlic cloves and add them to the ground pork. You can adjust the amount according to your taste.
• Ginger: Finely mince fresh ginger or squeeze it with your palm. Use the ginger juice only if you don’t like chewing on ginger pieces.
• Sesame oil: Adding some sesame oil will enhance the flavor of the meatballs.
• Pepper: You can use white or black pepper, but ground white pepper is more common in Asian cuisine.
• Salt, sugar, and light soy sauce are the basic flavoring agents. Remember that light soy sauce is salty, so adjust the amount of salt accordingly.
• Chestnuts: Adding some chopped chestnuts makes meatballs less dense and more tender. If you don’t have chestnuts, substitute them with chopped onions.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps to bind all the ingredients together.
• Lastly, add some red pepper flakes if you prefer it to be spicy.

2. Here are the steps on the making of Asian pork meatballs

I often make a large batch of meatballs, storing some for later use. When the time comes to cook them, I can either boil or pan-fry them. For boiling, I take them straight from the freezer and place them in boiling water. On the other hand, if I prefer to pan-fry them, I let them thaw at room temperature before cooking.

a. Make the meatballs

1. When preparing ground pork, you can ask your butcher to help you choose the cut with some fat and grind it. Alternatively, you can use your food processor at home.
2. Once you have your ground pork, place it on a chopping board and use a cleaver to mince it briefly. This will help break down the connective tissue.
3. Next, add all the remaining ingredients to the ground pork and mix thoroughly.
4. Next, hold the patty and smash it into the mixing bowl repeatedly for about a minute to make the meatball more juicy。 This action is called 哒 (pronounced as ‘daat’), a commonly used technique.
5. Finally, shape the ground pork mixture into the size of a meatball you prefer.

b. Cook the meatballs

1. Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat. It’s best to use a non-stick pan to avoid the hassle of cleaning the frying pan afterward.
2. Once the oil is heated, place the meatballs in the pan to pan-fry undisturbed for a minute.
3. Once they have firmed up, gently move them around and pan-fry them until they turn golden.
4. If the meatballs are too large and you are concerned that they are not fully cooked, briefly cover them with a lid for about a minute over low heat.
5. Once the meatballs are fully cooked, remove them from the pan and set them aside.

It’s important to make sure the meat is fully cooked. For pork, the internal temperature should be 160ºF/ 71ºC, and for beef, it should be 165°F/ 74°C.

c. Prepare the sauce for the meatballs

I like the sauce for Chinese barbecue pork (Char Siu). That’s why I created a similar sauce to serve with my meatballs. The sticky sauce is shiny, which will stick well onto the meatballs and make them glossy.

The sauce recipe is an adaptation of traditional Chinese barbecue sauce. The sauce ingredients are maltose, brown sugar, red fermented beancurd, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, Hoisin sauce, and Chu Hou Sauce, available in most Asian grocery stores. If you find the recipe too complex, you can leave out the red fermented beancurd, mainly used for its reddish color. In addition, if you have trouble finding Chu Hou Sauce, you can substitute it with an equal amount of Hoisin sauce. Maltose is a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine but is not widely used in Western cooking. You can use honey as a substitute.

To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a small pan and heat until the sauce boils. Turn off the heat, and the sauce is ready.

d. To serve

1. Coat the meatballs thoroughly with the sauce and return them to the pan.
2. Finally, garnish the meatballs by sprinkling some toasted sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions on top before serving.

I made these meatballs to serve with white rice. They are also suitable for serving as a main dish with rice noodles or spaghetti. It is especially perfect for busy weeknights as it is simple to prepare. The simplest method is to bring some chicken broth to a boil, then add the meatballs directly from the freezer until they are fully cooked.

3. More suggestions for this Asian pork meatball recipe

1. If you want to store your Asian pork meatballs in the freezer, you can do so for up to a month. To prevent them from sticking together, I recommend lining a sheet pan with parchment paper, placing the meatballs in a single layer, and ensuring they don’t touch each other. Freeze the tray until the meatballs are hardened. Once they are, you can remove them from the parchment paper and transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bags without worrying about them sticking together.
2. Add rice vinegar to the mixture if you like your meatballs to have a tangy flavor. However, remember to balance it out with a little more sugar.
3. Lastly, if you don’t eat pork, you can still make chicken or beef meatballs using the same method.

4. Other related recipes to Asian pork meatballs

If you like this Asian pork meatball recipe, you will be delighted with other recipes with Asian flavors on this blog.

• Chinese barbeque pork. This dish is a popular Cantonese cuisine in nearly all Cantonese restaurants worldwide. You can easily recreate it at home by following this recipe.
• Chinese cabbage stir-fry. This dish involves only a few ingredients and is best stir-fried on high heat with dry cabbage.
• Steamed pork with salted eggs. This is a Cantonese home-cooked classic. This is it if you want to taste the average Cantonese family’s cooking at home.