Meatballs Served with a Dash of Whimsy

Courtesy of my mom and her excellent culinary skills, we were fortunate to enjoy this delicious treat of Japanese meatballs when we hosted my birthday party last weekend. I was excited when she told me that this dish would be on the menu. While meatballs are always a traditional favorite and a safe choice that most every guest can enjoy, y'all know that it excites me when there is a whimsical twist on a tradition. She warned me that these little protein treats will be ugly! I laughed at her disclaimer, and then she explained that if they are made with finely chopped onions to yield a perfectly round shape, the taste will not be as flavorful as intended. The onion in the ball needs to be the hearty slice that the recipe calls for so that each bite is packed full of flavor. Also, this dish is deep fried, so the finished texture is not the same like we may be used to seeing with a classic meatball. Never the less, I eagerly accepted this item on the menu, even with the "ugly" warning, because Mom isn't the only one with whimsical ideas in the kitchen! I also have a few Oh my whimsy! ideas in my apron; like how a check pattern, petal rimmed platter can transform any dish served on it into a beauty ;-)

At the end of my girls' night out birthday party, there were no more meatballs to even take home to The Mister! Proving that these "ugly" little treats stole the show and were the center of attention that night! Mom has graciously shared the recipe with us so more can be made ;-)

Here's what you'll need:

~300 g ground pork

~1/2 an onion

~2 tbsp grated ginger

~1/2 an egg, beaten

~1/2 tsp of salt

~1/3 tsp of soy sauce

~2 pinches of ground black pepper

~a pinch of ground nutmeg

~100 ml of corn starch

~oil for deep frying

*Optional~ Colorful peppers and olive oil | Sauce: Worcestershire sauce and BBQ sauce mixed to taste

To make:

1. Slice the onion into smaller, but hearty cuts and microwave for about 3 minutes at 700 W

2. Combine the ground pork, grated ginger, nutmeg, beaten egg, salt, soy sauce and black pepper and squeeze together about 50 times by hand

3. Add the cooked onion and continue to squeeze the mixture together until evenly blended

4. Make the balls roughly 4 cm in diameter with the ground meat mixture and coat the outside with potato starch

5. Deep fry the potato starch-coated meatballs at 180 degrees C for 4-5 minutes. When they become a deep golden-brown, remove the oil and drain

6. Serve and enjoy!

*Optionally, we dressed up our platter of Japanese meatballs with a bunch of colorful, sweet mini peppers that we halved and drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of salt before broiling in the oven for about 15 minutes

If anyone should try this recipe without the ground pork, and perhaps a substitution of ground turkey, please do share your results!

Get the kitchenware in this post

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~Check petal platter

~Glass serving bowl

~Serving canape knives/spreaders

~White doily (on the platter)

~Gold rimmed wine glasses