Garlic-Ginger Chicken Meatballs With Cilantro and Mint

I normally tend towards asian flavours such as Thai or Vietnamese for ground chicken but I really was looking for something new.  I found this recipe on Bon Appetit that looked good and I have to say using the marinade as a sauce / flavouring for the meatballs turned out great!   You can swap out the ground chicken/pork with other ground meats.  

Garlic-Ginger Chicken Meatballs 

Ingredients

Marinade

•  8 cloves garlic, pressed / minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 2 tablespoons ginger, minced/grated 
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
• 1 tablespoon mint, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon amchur (dried green mango) *
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste)   
• salt to taste

Curry / Sauce

• chicken stock - about 1 cup
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
• 2 tablespoons mint, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, pressed / minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced/grated
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons or a bit more butter or fat

Meat 

• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 pound ground pork  

               or any ground meat mix equaling 1 pound 

 

* or tamarind or extra lemon juice and a bit of sugar/honey 

Directions

Make meatballs

1. mix the marinade with the meat until it is well blended.  Make meatballs.  I tend to do this right into the pan by using two spoons to press the meat together and plop into the pan.
2. in a hot pan, using a little oil, cook meatballs in batches.  Once cooked, set aside. 

Make sauce/curry

1.  in a hot pan, heat fat until hot. 
2. Add onions, cook until browned
3. add garlic, ginger and cook for about 1 min
4. add coriander and give it a stir
5. add chicken stock and bring to simmer
6. add all the meatballs and any liquids from the cooking to the sauce
7. add herbs (cilantro/min)
8. taste for salt

Serve with rice, if you eat rice.