I got the idea for this recipe from a combination of asian recipes I have made in the past. A while ago I made Jing Jiang chicken and the sauce was delicious so I decided to tweak the sauce a bit, and spice up the traditional turkey meatball to create this recipe.
I served this with some fresh steamed veggies and jasmine rice. I also added a warm soft pita on the side for scooping up every last bit of sauce.
I was pleasantly surprised with how easy and delicious this recipe came together and it's quickly become a weeknight staple in my house- soon to be yours!
I have found that one trip to a specialty asian store lasts me forever and I get all my staple sauces to use in all my asian recipes. This is obviously not necessary as a lot of these sauces can be found at a typical grocery store but sometimes it's easier when they're all in one place. If you don't have access to a specialty store and can't find them at your local grocery- I gave plenty of easy swaps for things like dark soy sauce or rice wine that won't change the overall flavor.
As for the bean sauce (above), you can find this on amazon or even Walmart! I prefer the hot bean sauce (it's not very spicy) to the sweet but both work!
Ground Turkey Meatballs with Szechuan Bean Sauce
4 Servings | Cook time: 30 minutes
Notes: An asian twist on turkey meatballs. You can use the hot or sweet variety of the Szechuan bean sauce but I personally person the hot (it’s not very spicy at all). I included easy substitutions for some of the asian specialty sauces.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
1 lb 93% ground turkey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 egg white (or egg)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Sweet Bean Sauce:
2 1/2 tbsp Szechuan hot bean sauce
2 tsp arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp rice wine (shaoxing or other rice wine)
1 tbsp low sodium light soy sauce and 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (can use all light if you don’t have dark soy sauce)
A few drops of sesame oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large bowl combine meatball ingredients until just combined. Spray a sheet pan with olive oil spray.
Use your hands to form 16 meatballs from the meat mixture (Tip: spray olive oil spray on hands to limit the meat from sticking). Arrange the meatballs on the sheet pan and transfer to the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway.
When there’s about 5 minutes remaining on the meatballs, make the sauce. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and pour into a sauce pan on medium. Bring the mixture just to a boil and turn down to low. The sauce will quickly thicken.
Remove the meatballs from the oven and toss in the sauce. Once the meatballs are coated in the sauce and the sauce has thickened, remove from heat.
Serve warm over steamed rice and vegetables. I like this alongside some pita as well.
Screenshot/Printer Friendly Version:
Nutrition Facts are provided as a guideline only. Exact nutrition will depend on quantity, brand and ingredients used.
