Teriyaki Meatballs

I was looking for something new to make for dinner, as is usually the case in my household.  If I'm up for cooking, why not make it fun and test out new choices?  This time around, I had some ground beef I wanted to use.  Meatballs came to mind as an option, but I wasn't in the mood for pasta (for once in my life). I had some store-bought teriyaki meatballs a few months ago, and they were so tasty I'd been wanting to try my own. I hadn't made a homemade teriyaki sauce either, so this was a great opportunity to knock out 2 things at once.

For the most part I followed this recipe, taking out the green onions (I simple didn't have them on hand) and panko bread crumbs (only because I actually forgot them), but adding in crushed red pepper.  I also skipped out on sesame seeds because I'm simply not a fan.  Unless it's on a hamburger bun, of course.

I started out by preparing the meatballs, combining the ground beef, egg, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and white pepper.  I used 1 full egg instead of 2 egg yolks.  Once well mixed, I formed the meat mixture into small meatballs and added them to a heated nonstick skillet with a small amount of olive oil.

I cooked the meatballs until they were browned on all sides.

Next, I added in the sauce ingredients, using the same skillet instead of cooking the sauce in a separate pan.  I stirred in the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic powder, honey and 1 cup water and brought the mixture to a simmer.  In a separate bowl, I mixed the remaining 1/4 cup water with the cornstarch.  I mixed the cornstarch and water in with the sauce, and continued simmering it for 2-3 minutes until it thickened up.

I served the finished meatballs and sauce over some white rice.

These meatballs were VERY good, especially with the rice.  The slight amount of crushed red pepper gave them a pinch of spice, but not enough to be overwhelming.  I am a fan of slight spiciness, but not too much.  The meatballs I had before also had pineapple in them, and I think I will try that next time since the sweetness along with that slight spice sounds delightful.  I thought these were great without Panko bread crumbs, but I'd try it out next time to see the difference, and I'm betting adding some sriracha would be a nice choice as well.  The sauce was quite good as well, and cooking it with the meatballs was a good choice since it tasted great and I saved myself from washing yet another pan.  This is a fantastic, easy alternative to your standard meatball recipe!

Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons powdered ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

For the teriyaki sauce:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and white pepper until well combined.  Form into small meatballs and add to a nonstick skillet with a small amount of olive oil heated to medium.  Cook until browned on all sides, then mix in the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic powder, honey and 1 cup water and heat the pan to a simmer. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup water with the cornstarch until dissolved, then mix into the sauce.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken.  Serve over rice.