A Bit Of Asian: Teriyaki Sesame Chicken Meatballs

I'm a big fan of the meatball in general, my dad makes maybe the best ones I've ever had and probably will ever have! But it's been quite the trend the last few years to try something different: "healthier" options like chicken, turkey, or even some veggie balls! I'm not about to get my veggie on, so I thought chicken would be fun to try. 

I've been on an Asian food kick lately, wanting to make it, wanting to buy it, wanting to look at it, and wanting to inhale all of it- you know, all the normal stuff. So I thought I'd start my little journey with some chicken meatballs with all the Asian flavors I know and love. 

**Note: I'm grinding my own chicken here, if you want to skip this step, buy the ground chicken meat in the store. I'm grinding mine because I'm using thighs, and I can't for the life of me find ground thigh meat!**

Balls
-1 lb chicken thighs- no bone/no skin 
-1/2 onion
-2 cloves garlic
-1/2 inch fresh ginger 
-1 egg white
-1 tbs lemon juice
-3 scallions stalks
-4 tbs vegetable oil for frying
-Salt and pepper

Sauce
-1/3 cup mirin (if you can't find this, rice wine vinegar will work- just not as sweet, add a touch more sugar)
-2 tbs soy sauce
-1 tbs sugar
-1 tbs sesame seeds
-1 scallion stalk finely chopped
-1 tsp teriyaki sauce
-2 tbs oyster sauce 

1. Roughly chop the thighs, onion, garlic, scallions, and ginger and put into a food processor along with the egg white, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until well combined- not chunky, but not pureed. 
2. Shape your meatballs however large or small you'd like and set aside.
3. Put a large pan on medium heat with the oil and fry the meatballs until browned and cooked through.
4. Remove the meatballs and set aside on paper towels to drain any extra oil.
5. Remove most of the extra oil/fat from the pan and lower the heat to medium low.
6. Add to the pan the mirin, soy sauce, sugar, chopped scallions, sesame seeds, teriyaki sauce, and oyster sauce- stir well to combine.
7. Add the meatballs to the sauce and coat them fully.
8. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened and the meatballs have been well coated.

Devour!

Because I didn't want just meatballs, I roasted some broccoli and made some jasmine rice for some sides and boy oh boyyyy, this stuff is good. If you wanted to get really into it, you could make some lo mien and have an Asian spaghetti and meatballs situation on your hands, which doesn't sound horrible either. ORRRR you could incorporate these into some sort of sandwich with some good soft bread, pickled veggies, and a nice aoli. The possibilities are endless, let your stomach guide you, that's what I usually do. These would be really good on some sort of pizza too... ok I have to stop now before I eat my hand over here! 

Next on my Asian cooking adventure... scallion pancakes and maybe potstickers! 

Meaghan