Why are my chicken meatballs tough?

Ground chicken can be tricky to work with, but there are a couple of tricks to make sure you never have dry, tough meatballs. First, you want to (ideally) mix the meatball mixture with your hands. Doing it this way means you'll be able to combine the ingredients quicker (and more effectively) than with a regular spoon. The key to a juicy meatball is not overworking the meat. Overworking = tough. You also need to add enough liquid to ensure they don't try out. Ground meat can take more moisture than you'd think, and it all works to help it stop drying out. That's why we're adding soy sauce, sesame oil and fish sauce here.

Can I make the chicken meatballs in advance?

You can! You can form the meatballs, then place them on a plate covered with cling film (or in a covered container) and store them in the fridge until you're ready to cook them. They'll be fine for a day in this way. You can also freeze the formed meatballs - place them on a lined oven tray in the freezer for 20 minutes, then store them in zip-lock bags. You can cook them straight from frozen (add five minutes to the first cooking time). The cooked meatballs will keep well for 5 days, making this a great recipe for meal prep.

How spicy are the gochujang chicken meatballs?

The meatballs themselves aren't spicy - but the gochujang glaze does have a bit of a kick. If you're worried, reduce the amount of gochujang to 1 tablespoon (or 1/2). You can also enjoy these without the glaze if you like.

Sticky Asian Style Gochujang Chicken Meatballs

Name: Sticky Asian Style Chicken Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: asian
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups rice; 1 small head of broccoli, chopped; 2 tablespoons sesame seeds; 2 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced; 1lb/500g ground chicken; 1-inch piece of ginger, grated; 4 garlic cloves, crushed (or 1 tablespoon garlic paste); ¼ cup cilantro leaves (coriander), finely chopped; 2 teaspoons sesame seeds; 1 tablespoon sesame oil; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon fish sauce; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs; 2 tablespoons gochujang paste; 2 tablespoons honey; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons sesame oil; 1 tablespoon sweet chili jam (or use sweet chili sauce or more honey)

Description

These ultra-juicy, sweet, spicy gochujang glazed chicken meatballs take just 30 minutes and are like Korean fried chicken, in meatball form. Served over rice, they’re perfect for busy weeknights or as little party appetizers. Full of Asian-style flavors and easy to prep ahead, you’ll want to add these to your menu rotation!

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the bowls -

1 1/2 cups rice
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced

For the meatballs -

1lb/500g ground chicken
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, crushed (or 1 tablespoon garlic paste)
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (coriander), finely chopped
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

For the sticky gochujang glaze -

2 tablespoons gochujang paste
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sweet chili jam (or use sweet chili sauce or more honey)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Make your rice. Add 1 1/2 cups rice, 2 1/2 cups cold water and a pinch of salt to a small pot you have a lid for. Set over medium heat, and when the top of the water looks a bit foamy, turn the heat right down and pop the lid on. Leave it, undisturbed, for 12 minutes while you get on with the meatballs. After 12 minutes, remove the pot from the heat but leave the lid on until you’re ready to serve. PRO TIP: If your pot doesn’t have a lid, you can use a large plate or wooden chopping board.
Mix the meatballs. Heat your oven to 450F/230C fan and line a large oven tray with baking paper. Add the ground chicken, panko breadcrumbs, ginger, crushed garlic, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a mixing bowl. The best way to avoid tough meatballs is to mix them with your hands, but you can use a wooden spoon if you don’t want to get messy.
Cook the meatballs and broccoli. Wet your hands to stop the meatball mix from sticking to your hands, then take a heaped tablespoon into your hands and roll it into a ball. Place on the prepared oven tray, then repeat with the rest of the mixture. If your tray is large enough, keep roughly half of it free so you can cook the broccoli on it later. If your tray is small, use a separate lined tray for your broccoli. Pop the meatballs into the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the tray from the oven. Add the sliced broccoli and drizzle with roughly 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then put the tray back into the oven for another 10 minutes. After this, the broccoli should look lovely and charred and the meatballs should be golden.
Make the gochujang glaze. While the meatballs are cooking, make the gochujang glaze. Add 2 tablespoons of gochujang paste, 2 tablespoons of honey, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam to a small pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, as the sauce starts to bubble up and thin out in consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Arrange and serve. Remove the meatballs and broccolini from the oven, then drizzle the gochujang glaze all over the meatballs and toss to coat well. Divide the rice between bowls, then top with the meatballs and broccolini. Finish with the sesame seeds and sliced scallions, then serve any extra sauce on the side.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: Gochujang is a spicy, sweet, intensely savoury Korean fermented chilli paste. You’ll find it in the international aisle of larger supermarkets, or at an Asian supermarket. You’ll also find it on Amazon. If you’re worried the glaze might be too spicy for you, reduce the amount of gochujang (use 1 or 1/2 tablespoon). If you taste it and it’s still too spicy, you can add a little more honey to balance the spiciness out.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Swap the broccoli for broccolini, or you could use cauliflower, green beans or asparagus. If you can’t find gochujang paste, use another hot sauce, like sriracha. You could also add more veggies – edamame beans, bok choy, spinach, bean sprouts and shaved carrots would be great options.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The meatballs will keep well for 4 days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge, making this a great recipe for meal prep. Reheat in the microwave at 1-minute intervals until heated through. You can store the meatballs by themselves, or with the rice and broccolini. You can also form the meatballs and store them in the fridge, either on a tray covered with cling film or in a covered container for up to a day.

HOW TO FREEZE: You can freeze the meatballs either raw or cooked. Either way, place them on a lined oven tray in the freezer until they’re solid, then transfer them to a zip lock bag. You can cook them straight from frozen (add an extra 5 minutes if cooking frozen raw meatballs).

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 20
Category: fakeaways
Method: oven
Cuisine: asian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 250g
Calories: 675
Sugar: 15.1g
Sodium: 942.6mg
Fat: 24.9g
Saturated Fat: 5.1g
Unsaturated Fat: 18.2g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 82.8g
Fiber: 4.2g
Protein: 31.5g
Cholesterol: 107.5mg