Saturday, October 25, 2008

Sweet n Spicy Asian Style Meatballs

Sweet n Spicy Asian Style Meatballs with Warm Asian Slaw


This is why I love making a recipe that I can use for several different items and occasions. I gave you my simple meatball recipe yesterday and used half of the meatballs for a comforting meatball soup, the other half I saved because I have a party to go to tonight and am going to take a tray of meatballs with me for an appetizer. I skewered the meatballs with toothpicks and dipped them in this very easy Asian dipping sauce that I almost always keep in the fridge because it is so versatile. Everyone makes Swedish meatballs and BBQ meatballs so next time you want to make meatballs, try these Sweet n Spicy Asian Meatballs, your friends and family will love them! This is a good way to take a classic meatball and make it a little modern with an Asian sauce instead....trust me....everyone will love them!
For my meatball recipe go to:
Sweet n Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup Thai Chili Pepper sauce (almost all grocery stores now carry this, even find this at Wal-mart in their ethnic food aisle, near rest of Asian foods/sauces)
1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons honey
pinch or dash of ground ginger
pinch or dash of garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring just to a boil. Turn off heat and continue to stir and remove from heat. This sauce can be served warm or cold. Will keep in your fridge for a couple weeks. It is so good on meatballs and chicken wings! You can sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top of meatballs or wings after you dip them in the glaze.
Use a toothpick to skewer your meatball to dip them in the sauce

Make sure to roll the meatball around the sauce to get a good coating of the sauce on it.
I love serving these meatballs with this Warm Asian Slaw.
You can drizzle a little more sauce on top once you've plated your meatballs on top of the slaw.

Warm Asian Slaw:
2-3 cups Broccoli Slaw (I love broccoli slaw because it is PACKED with vitamins and nutrients. You can find this in almost all grocery stores now too, near the salad/slaw items. If you can't find it, just use regular slaw mix)
2 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons Sweet n Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce

Saute the broccoli slaw with the butter for about 1 minute.
Add the Asian dipping sauce, mix well and cook for about another minute.
I like serving this slaw warm but it is still really good cold, too.


I like to take my meatball and pile on the Warm Asian Slaw on top and put it all in my mouth as one big bite...talk about good!!!

There are so many reasons why broccoli is good for you and I know sometimes it's hard to get kids or even grown ups to eat broccoli but it is a no-brainer...you have to find a way to eat this stuff so that's why I love products like broccoli slaw and broccoli sprouts, same health benefits of broccoli but a little easier to hide in foods and add different flavors to please those picky eaters out there. According to http://www.healthfood-guide.com/ (another of my favorite sites)...here's what you get from this magical vegetable.....

Health Benefits Of Broccoli (according to http://www.healthfoood-guide.com/)

Broccoli provides a high amount of vitamin C, which aids iron absorption in the body, prevents the development of cataracts, and also eases the symptoms of the common cold. The folic acid in broccoli helps women sustain normal tissue growth and is often used as a supplement when taking birth control pills and during pregnancies. The potassium in broccoli aids those battling high blood pressure, while a large amount of calcium helps combat osteoporosis.

The vegetable is also fiber-rich, which enhances the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as well as aims to reduce blood cholesterol levels. In recent years, broccoli has made the headlines regarding three components found in the vegetable. For instance, indole-3-carbinol has captured the attention of those looking to prevent hormone-related cancers, such as breast- and prostate cancer. I3C promotes "good" hormones, while working against destructive ones.

The sulforaphane in broccoli also helps to increase the level of enzymes that block cancer, while the beta-carotene in broccoli transforms into vitamin A within the body, providing an effective antioxidant that destroys free radicals (responsible for weakening the defense of cells).

Additionally, the health benefits of broccoli have been linked to preventing and controlling the following medical concerns: Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, calcium deficiencies, stomach and colon cancer, malignant tumors, lung cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and even the aging process.




12 comments:

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I really have to start making meatballs again. Everything look so yummy.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Oh,my goodness, I love this. The kids and I love, love, love "Asian/Oriental" foods. I bet the sauce would taste delish on rice too.

I like the broccoli slaw as well but haven't seen it recently. My kids are also huge fans of broccoli. If they had their way they would it as their dinner veggie almost every night. I usually saute it in olive oil and butter, with crushed red pepper flakes and minced garlic, yum!

Thanks for the recipe...I'm printing it out. Sorry to hear about your computer and your son is a definite cutie!

I've been meaning to mention but I'm adding you to my blogroll, okay!?
~ingrid

Anonymous said...

These look like they'd make an amazing appetizer, too! The sauce sounds so flavorful :)!

avesta said...

Thank Helene. And next time you want to make meatballs..just make a really big batch and freeze some so you can just pull out the freezer bags of homemade meatballs. That's what I do!

Ingrid I think your kids will love these meatballs. My kids wouldn't stop stealing them from my display! The sauce is yummy on rice and on chicken too!

Thanks Sophie! I think this is a great sauce because it's easy and keeps for a while in the fridge so you can make a big batch and use it on several different items!

avesta said...

btw...Ingrid...I'd love to be a part of your blogroll! I can't wait until my computer is fixed this week so I can start updating and putting up more recipes!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Hi!
I made these on Friday. First the sauce is awesome! The boys had a friend over and he loved it too.

Here's how I messed up. I didn't print out your full recipe. Just until the bring to a boil part. Well, I doubled the recipe amount(too much now) and dumped in my meatballs(bad move)into the sauce. I winded up throwing out all that extra sauce and meatballs after they became saturated. I didn't have the part of the recipe that said you can keep the sauce for a couple of weeks in the fridge! I thought I was being smart because my kids like a a lot of sauce but less is obviously more with this one!

I'm trying again in a couple of weeks and this time I've got the whole recipe printed out!
~ingrid
Oh, and the sauce smelled heavenly while it was cooking! oh.my.gosh!

avesta said...

Ingrid, yes the sauce is strong so a little does go a long way! It's best to dip or brush this sauce on items! But hey...you learned so next time you can make a nice big batch and have leftovers to use on chicken or veggies!

Anonymous said...

these were amazing! I didn't change a thing and they were so good I am making them again already. thanks

Unknown said...

Is there a way to do this in a slow cooker? I want to do this for a party with a larger group. Can I cook the meatballs in the oven, put it in the crockpot on keep warm...and then should I make the sauce and pour it over the meatballs in the crockpot- just enough to coat them?

avesta said...

Hi Stephanie! Yes you can do that in a crockpot just make sure you add water or beef broth to the crockpot as the liquid gets thicker so you don't have dry meatballs. I just add a little water every once in a while to keep them moist and keep the sauce from drying out. Good luck!

Unknown said...

sounds great! I'll give that a try! THANK YOU!!!

avesta said...

Also you may want to double the sauce recipe so you have plenty of sauce for the meatballs in the crockpot!