Our Foodie, Sonali, shares Indo-Chinese cuisine, chicken meatballs in spicy garlic sauce. It’s yummy, wholesome and quick to make. It’s a comfort food on a weekend. Read more in the weekly column, exclusively in Different Truths.
I eagerly wait for the weekends when I could stretch a bit and spend time leisurely. The weekdays are quite hectic for me and follow a tight schedule to keep up with hundreds of different things. On weekends, I am quite relaxed and start the day quite late with a cup of hot masala tea made by the husband. We spend the day lazing around the house, watching movies and dining out. Sometimes, when I am in a mood, I make Indo-Chinese recipes, which is one of my favorite cuisines.
This chicken meatballs in spicy garlic sauce is what I made last weekend! We had it with Chinese fried rice. The recipe is simple and comes out fast. Chinese cooking does not take a lot of time. The only thing is you must keep all the ingredients prepped and ready before cooking.
The juicy and moist meatballs with spicy garlic sauce will be a hit at any weekend party and can be paired with noodles and fried rice.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
1 pound minced or ground chicken
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper powder
2-3 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce (optional)
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 egg
For the spicy gravy:
10-12 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks of green onions, green and white parts separated and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
1 teaspoon soya sauce
2 teaspoons corn starch
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
Vegetable oil for frying and cooking
1-2 red chilis finely chopped for garnish
Method
For the meatballs:
In a bowl add the minced chicken, salt, black pepper powder, soya sauce, oyster sauce, finely chopped garlic, egg and the corn starch and mix well with your hands. If needed you may add a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch.
Heat oil in a wok for deep frying. Wet the palms of your hand. Scoop a portion of the chicken mixture and make tiny balls out of it and drop into the hot oil. Fry the balls in batches at medium heat. Drain and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
For the gravy:
In another wok heat 1 tablespoon of oil and add the chopped garlic and the white parts of the green onions. Sauté for 30 seconds at medium-low heat. In a cup add all the sauce and mix well. When the garlic is fragrant, add the sauce and mix well.
Add 1 1/2 cups of water and let it come to a simmer. Add the salt and black pepper powder. Add the fried chicken balls and mix well.
In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and water and mix well. When the sauce starts to boil add the cornstarch mixture and mix thoroughly. Switch off the flame. The sauce will turn thick.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped green onions and red chilis. Serve hot with Chinese fried rice or noodles. Enjoy!
Tips
While mixing the chicken mixture, do not overmix. Overmixing may make the chicken balls tough. While sautéing the chopped garlic make sure it does not burn. Be careful while adding salt as the sauce used is quite salty.
©Sonali Chakraborty
Photos by the author
#FridayFoodie #MeatBalls #SpicyCuisine #IndoChineseCuisine #FusionFood #DifferentTruths
By
By
By