Chinese Style Turkey Meatballs

This was a fun twist on spaghetti and meatballs. The flavors of cilantro, sesame oil and soy sauce give the meatballs a distinct Asian flare.  I'd say that the meatballs taste a lot like the meat filling of a gyoza dumpling.  I love me some gyoza, or potstickers, but they can be a bit on the fussy side.  (Mine always stick to the pan, and not in a good way.) These meatballs were all the yummy without all the work.

We ate our meatballs with soba, Japanese buckwheat noodles, to follow through with the Asian theme.  I'm sure you could use regular thin spaghetti if you can't find or don't like soba.  We happen to love it, and our grocery store carries it in the Asian foods aisle.  Yay!

I really liked that these meatballs were baked and make from lean turkey.  A win win situation in my book. 

Blockette was rather indifferent towards the sauce.  I thought it had a good balance of salty, sweet and tangy.  I just dipped my meatballs one by one in the sauce, but Mrblocko poured the sauce over his entire dish. 

Chinese style turkey meatballs from Disney's Family.com
Meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey
2 scallions, very finely chopped
1/2 cup very finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs (unseasoned)
1 egg, lightly beaten


Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 or 3 slices fresh ginger smashed with the side of a heavy knife

To make the meatballs: Heat the oven to 400. Gently mix together the ingredients (hands are best for this), then form meatballs by rolling tablespoon-sized scoops between your palms. (I used a small cookie scoop) Arrange on a lightly oiled or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until well-browned and cooked through.

To make the dipping sauce: In a small pot, stir all the ingredients together over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Simmer 3 or so minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens a bit. Fish out the ginger and serve in small cups for dipping.