These tasty meatballs are the perfect adaptation of everyone's favourite Japanese gyoza dumplings. Makes 4 servings as an appetizer or you can use as two servings and complete the meal with a large Asian slaw or steamed vegetables.
Ingredients
DIPPING SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons Tamari
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar white vinegar or apple cider vinegar can also be used
- 1/2 teaspoon togarashi powder see Notes
SURIMI (MEAT PASTE):
- 1 lb. ground pork mince, 500 g
- 1/2 inch ginger peeled and grated, or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon mirin see Notes
- 1 teaspoon tamari see Notes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup green cabbage finely chopped
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil divided
Instructions
- Combine the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Combine the surimi ingredients in a food processor and pulse until tacky and well mixed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and mix together with the cabbage and green onion using your hands. Form into 20 to 25 small balls using wet hands.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add half of the balls and pan-fry until cooked through, rotating often, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the remaining balls and pan-fry until cooked through, then serve with the dipping sauce.
Notes
- Togarashi powder is that red pepper spice you see in many Japanese eateries, usually sprinkled on a ramen soup. You can buy it from Asian stores and online or you can make a substitute by combining half portion of cayenne pepper, quarter portion of paprika, and quarter potion of lemon pepper. For example, to make 1 tablespoon of togarashi powder, use 1/2 tablespoon of cayenne, a little less than 1 teaspoon paprika, and a little less than 1 teaspoon lemon pepper.
- Mirin is a wine made from sweet rice, unlike sake which is also a rice wine, mirin is much sweeter and goes well with salty tamari or coconut aminos sauce. I use mirin occasionally in Asian cooking and you can get a bottle from Asian sections of you local supermarket, Asian grocers and online. It's a good buy as you can use it in dressings and stir-fries.
- Tamari sauce is a gluten free naturally brewed soy sauce that can be bought in most health food stores and in many supermarkets. Coconut aminos can be used instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 1305mg | Potassium: 401mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg
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