Asian Pork Balls With Napa Cabbage

Submitted by Mercy

"Two of my most favorite ingredients in one recipe...sesame oil and sherry. What more could you ask for? I found this recipe online when I was low-carbing (just omitted the cornstarch and thickened the sauce by boiling it down) and then I tweaked it a little bit to suit my tastes."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 35mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 lbs ground lean pork
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, minced
• 1⁄2 cup onion, finely chopped (can substitute leeks or scallions)
• 1 teaspooon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry wine (optional)
• 6 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water

directions

1. Mix together the first seven ingredients and form into golf-ball sized balls.
2. Place the pork balls on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.
3. Place the pork balls in a large pot (Dutch oven) with the 1 cup of chicken broth, the 1 tablespoon soy sauce and the 1 tablespoon sherry and bring to a boil.
4. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the napa cabbage, cover, and simmer for 10 more minutes.
6. Dissolve the 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the 2 tablespoons cold water.
7. Remove the pork balls and cabbage from the liquid and arrange on a serving platter.
8. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the remaining liquid and bring it back to a boil.
9. Once the sauce has thickened, pour it over the pork balls and cabbage.

Reviews

[Chuck_Roast]

The combination of meatballs and cabbage was great - I did add to the recipe quite a bit to 'brighten' it up a little. Still loved the combo of flavors and textures - it's a very good and unique recipe that is easy to make.....I will be making it again soon. It's healthy too, especially if you use ground turkey. To 1 pound of meat I added the same ingredients as the recipe calls for in two pounds of meat; except for onion and water chestnuts - I stuck with the correct proportions. I also added 2 tsp of minced garlic and a couple tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro to the meat mixture. I sauteed 1/2 of a med/large sweet onion (sliced) in the dutch oven with some sesame oil, until golden prior to adding the sauce mixture and meat balls (I added a couple tsp of ginger and garlic to the sauce and used a 14oz can of chicken broth instead of 1 cup. When time came to add the cabbage I inlcuded the remaining water chestnuts sliced. To the final sauce I added 1 T of rice vinegar and 2 t brown sugar and 1.5 T hoisin sauce, and the cornstarch mix. This really made the sauce come alive. Next time I am going to throw a tsp or two of red pepper flakes in the sauce at the beginning and heat up the dish to more of a szechuan style.

 

[gypsygal]

Thank you for a Low Carb Treasure! Now one of our favorites. I grind my own pork and only had about 1 3/4 lb. and a 1/2 a head of green cabbage. I couldn't resist trying your recipe. For the meat balls I used 1/2 C. spring onion (scallions). I didn't use any salt. (even with using low salt soy sauce, that amt. salt was enough for us.) Used about 1/2 tsp. pepper. The only changes I made were: I used 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil and added 1 med. clove of garlic, finely minced. I baked the meat balls at 350 degrees because I had the thinly sliced "Green Cabbage" instead of the Napa Cabbage and didn't want them overcooked. I cooked the cabbage, chicken broth, 1/3 cup diced red pepper, 1 diced scallion, a pinch of red pepper flakes for about 10 minutes before I added the meatballs. Because of the amount of the cabbage I had, I doubled the Soy Sauce and the Sherry that I added to the chicken broth. The texture and flavor of the meat balls was perfect and went great with the cabbage. I know I will make this again. I plan to try it next with the Napa Cabbage. Oh, I got 45 small meat balls. More than I needed for the cabbage. I froze 1/2 of them. Thank you again for a treasure.

 

[jessicailene]

I made this exactly as written and was not at all impressed with the dish. The meal tasted as though it had been randomly thrown together - it certainly didn't taste like an Asian dish and was just blah. The water chestnuts gave the meat balls a strange consistency because, unlike the onions, they remained hard so they made the balls strangely crunchy and seemed to serve no purpose, as the water chestnuts had no taste. I would say the best part of the meal was the cabbage in the sauce. Although the dish looked just like the picture and turned out as it was intended to be, I would not make this again.

 

[Chef bifaerie79]

This was very good. Followed the recipe exactly (except I added some chopped green onions to the cabbage...oops not exactly, I guess!) and I was very happy with the results. We will be adding this to our regulars! Thanks for posting such a great recipe. P.S. Reminds me of Chinese Lion's Head!

 

[Needles]

Really delicious dish when you want something Asian. I only tweaked the recipe a bit (added some garlic to the meatballs and a drizzle of sesame oil over the finished dish). The water chestnuts added a nice crunch - homey food that's low-carb. Thanks Mercy!