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Monday, August 30, 2010

Juicy Meat Balls


Meat Ball 1

IMG_3554

You've probably noticed that I love to work with minced meat. The pack of minced pork is possibly the most versatile ingredient I have in my fridge... after the trusted eggs, of course. After the last successful attempt at braised minced meat sauce, I decided to make more and stock them in the freezer. After the stock up, I was actually left with a balance of some 200g of minced pork which I had to consume before I leave for my week-long business trip.

Taking every cooking opportunity now to experiment with new recipes, I decided to try out a deep fried meat ball recipe I saw in a Japanese cookbook titled ' The Basics Of Chinese Cooking' - as silly and hilarious it may sound but sometimes, I truly think that it could be helpful to refer to a non-native interpretation of the familiar. It is in these interpretations that we sometimes discover important things/steps that could have already been taken too much for granted by the native writers. When I flipped through this cookbook at cafe book store, 25 Degrees Celsius, When I saw this recipe, I knew immediately that the writer behind the recipes is authentic - for one simple reason - this is the first time, I have seen instructions given in a cookbook to add water to minced meat.  It is common practice to add water to minced meat/ meat after marination to retain the soft and juicy texture of the meat - this is a practice most of our grandmothers / mothers would have been doing. However, I think it has occured to very few of them to pass this 'trick' down - possibly because it is so insignificant. I have made it a habit to do this when I prepare sliced beef/ pork, burgers and other minced dishes. When I first learnt about this 'trick' many years back, I was elated because it made me realise that one does not need to use fatty pork all the time to get a soft juicy pork dish.

This recipe exceeded my expectation when it went a step further to use ' Spiced Up Water' to 'hydrate' the pork. Below, I have documented my first step by step illustration of the preparation. Quick and easy to prepare, the results are impressive. Goodbye to tough and dry meatballs. These meatballs, as illustrated by the cross section photo of the meat ball above, is 'fine-crumbed' , tender and juicy.

(Edith, I am thinking of making this for the event you are planning.... paired with an onion gravy. What do you think? )

Picnik collage 1

1. Soak Spring Onion and sliced ginger in water and rub with hands to infuse water with the flavours. This is effective in removing 'porky' smell of the minced meat.

2. Add seasonings and egg. Blend well.

3. Slowly add the infused 'spice water'. Stirring well to incorporate water into meat.

Picnik collage 2

4. Mix well with hand until minced meat turns into a gluey paste.

5. Shape mince meat into balls.

6. Heat enough oil in a wok, deep fry meat balls over low heat until golden brown.

Meat Ball 1(100)
Recipe :

Minced Pork 200g
Spiced Water
Spring onion 1 stalk
Ginger 3 slices
Water 50ml

Seasoning
Salt 1/4 tsp
Soya Sauce 1/3 tsp
Sesame Oil 1/3 tsp
Pepper 1/8 tsp
Corn flour 2 tsp

27 comments:

Jo said...

Looks yummy and succulent. Great as finger food for a snack or cocktails.

busygran said...

Nice, juicy meatballs!
There are many cooking tips and baking tips. Sometimes we take for granted that every one knows about them. I've passed quite a lot of tips to both my daughters. Perhaps next time when I post my stuffs, I will try to remember to include some relevant tips.

Anh said...

Just wow! I do love the texture of these meat balls!

Passionate About Baking said...

Shirley,
Your meat balls looked very fine and delicious. I didn't know using the spring onion and ginger infused water can get rid of the porky smell. I like your easy method. Thanks for sharing this. Will tell my helper to do that next time. :)

Kitchen Corner said...

These juicy meat balls looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the step-by-step methods. I think the method is quite like the Hok Cheu meat ball. But this deep fried version must be very appetizing! Nice one!

Allie said...

Wow, these look really delicious! I am sooo tempted to make these too. And I love the serving dish you used...reminds me of the takoyaki at Ion Orchard basement!

Zurin said...

Precious precious tip. You are so right about non native recipe writers. I find that very true. They see things froma different angle/perspective that native writers/cooks may not see. I must use that tip too in future. Thanks Shirley. :)

Bakericious said...

Shirley, this is very helpful to me, I am trying to pick up cooking recently. Thanks for the tutorial, looks not difficult, I shd be able to make it :P.

3 hungry tummies said...

I can easily finish the whole serve...delicious!

WendyinKK said...

Very interesting!!!

Thanks for sharing this.
I'll try out spiced water if I ever make pork balls.

Anonymous said...

Yummy! :)

Edith said...

Shirley, sorry about the delay in replying as my computer died on me.

I think this is okay for the event but will have to provide more gravy.

ann low said...

These juicy meat balls looks really delicious. Thanks for the tips :)

Pei-Lin said...

Shirley, thank you for an informative post like this one! Ya know what, I made some burger patties using shrimp meat yesterday. Silly me, I didn't add any water to the meat ... So, the result wasn't of my expectations. Bummer!

Will do that "spiced-water" trick the next round! Keep it up!

Take care! Enjoy Seoul! Hope to see you again. If you stop by KL, let me know as Wendy would like to meet up with you too. Thank you for being so supportive. =)

Aimei said...

Your meatballs looks so much more delicious and succelent than those sold outside. Thanks for sharing! I'll bookmark this!

La Table De Nana said...

Just running in and out saying I have not missed one beautiful shot of yours~
A wonderful escape~

pigpigscorner said...

Looks amazing! I can't wait to make this! Bookmarked!

tigerfish said...

I add some water when I marinate my wonton fillings too. Makes juicy moist wontons...yes yes yes :)

Angie's Recipes said...

My hubby will definitely love these little cuties!

Rabbittrick said...

yuuuum... this is amazing. hardly any reading i've done lately has unearthed such simple, yet traditional and old techniques such as these in cooking. thanks for sharing!

MaryMoh said...

Great finger food. Would make a great party or picnic item.

Meldylocks and Her Three Bears said...

Hoh...another tip learnt!! I love knowing these tips although I'm not doing much cooking. Thank you!

Maria @ ScandiFoodie said...

I make meatballs so often (Finnish stable dish), but I've never tried deep frying them, these looks really delicious!

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

I adore meatballs and these look a little different from your standard meatballs which makes them very intriguing! :D

Cooking Gallery said...

I agree that minced meat is very versatile. I love to use it for making various kinds of dim sum or pasta sauce. Your meatballs look VERY yummy...!!

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Yay for posts like this one. Not just for the recipe but also the precious tip which explains why grandma's/mom's cooking always tasted better!

petite nyonya said...

Give me these anytime! I love fried minced meatball!

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