Chinese meatballs are a delicious snack or ingredient that you should always have at hand. They can be eaten in so many different ways: as a snack, a topping or an ingredient.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Chinese Meatballs
I adore meatballs of any kind. And tehse Chinese meatballs recipe is one of those recipes that I’ve been wanting to blog on for a long, long time. However, despite making them pretty regularly, I’ve never photographed the method nor the result. Because they get eaten too quickly!
So what finally prompted me to blog about Chinese meatballs?
Well, I’d planned to make Bak Chor Mee, a singularly Singaporean minced meat noodle dish. Bak Chor Mee is served with a host of toppings, and one of them is meatballs, to be precise.
I didn’t have any in the freezer (always homemade), so had to make some before I could make the noodles. Since I was already planning to take photos of the noodles, I figured it was a case of now or never!
Why make Meatballs at Home?
If you are lucky enough to get them easily? For the same reasons you make anything from scratch at home: you control the ingredients, so no nasties, and you make it to your taste. And you know what? They are soooo easy to make.
If you start off with the meat already minced, it won’t take you more than 20 minutes, plus about 5 minutes of cooking time. Sometimes, I like to make mine with minced chilli, sometimes I like to add fresh coriander (cilantro) to the mix.
See what I mean about making the recipe to your own taste? I’ve given suggestions for other ingredients you can add to your paste in the recipe card below.
The beauty of having ready made Chinese meatballs in your fridge or freezer is that they can be used in so many ways: soups, stews, fried rice and fried noodles. When using in fried rice and noodles, they can be sliced and used either as a “filling” or as a topping/garnish.
How to use Chinese Meatballs
I use this exact recipe for all types of meat, although I do double up on the Chinese 5 spice and the white pepper when using beef or lamb. So you can make your Chinese meatballs with pork, chicken, turkey, beef or lamb.
Fishballs? Watch this space! Here you go, just click on that image for your fishballs recipe!
I’ve included a short video tutorial on the actual rolling of the meatballs, in the recipe card below.
Shall we get our aprons on?
If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
How to Make Chinese Meatballs
Ingredients
- 500 g minced meat of your choice (pork, chicken, beef, etc)
- 3 Tbsp cold water
- ¼ tsp Chinese 5 spice powder (½ tsp) for beef or lamb
- ½ tsp white pepper (1 tsp) for beef or lamb
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch in the US)
- ½ tsp baking powder
Additional aromatics/spices (Optional)
- minced ginger
- minced garlic
- minced chilli
- chopped spring onions (scallions)
- 1 Tbsp crispy fried shallots
You’ll also need a bowl of cold water for your hands
Instructions
- Place the mince into a chopper with the cold water and blitz for 20 seconds until the water has been absorbed by the meat. You could also do this by hand in a bowl with a fork or spoon.500 g minced meat of your choice (pork, chicken, beef, etc)
- Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl into a smooth paste.3 Tbsp cold water, ¼ tsp Chinese 5 spice powder, ½ tsp white pepper, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 pinch salt, 2 tsp cornflour, ½ tsp baking powder
- Pour this paste onto the mince meat.
- Turn the chopper on again for 30-60 seconds until you have a smooth, well mixed meat paste. Again, you can do this in a bowl with a fork or spoon but it will take about 2 minutes of continuous mixing.
- Tip the meat paste into a bowl. If you are not ready to cook them yet, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge until needed.
- When ready to cook, do a taste test first. Microwave a pinch of the meat paste for about 30 seconds, then taste it. Add more soy sauce if it needs it.
- Let's make some balls! Scoop a small amount of the meatball paste in your hand, clench your fist and push the paste between the "hole" made by your thumb and forefinger (see images and video).Use a teaspoon to scoop the ball of your hand.
- Keep doing this until all the meatball paste has been used up. You may have to rinse your hands in the bowl of cold water every 3-4 balls, to prevent sticking.
- At this stage, you could roll them between your palms to create more rounded and smooth meatballs, if you like. Again, don’t forget to dip your hands in the bowl of cold water to keep the paste from sticking.
- Bring a pot of water or stock to boil.
- Lower the heat right down and slowly, slide the meatballs into the simmering water. You want them to form roughly a single layer, don’t overfill the pot, so you may have to do this in 2 batches.
- Increase the heat to medium high and keep a close eye on the meatballs. As soon as the water starts to boil, lower the heat down to medium-low or low and simmer for 5 minutes. This should be enough time for the balls to cook. Don't let the water come to a rolling boil as the meatballs might fall apart.
- When they are done, scoop out with a skimmer or slotted spoon and use as required in a recipe.
To freeze
- Cool to room temperature, place in a freezer proof bag and freeze for up to a month.
Conggee is one of my fave comfort meals and they have Chinese meatballs in them. I’ve always loved them so you sharing it just changed my life! I gotta try it out!
Haha, thank you, congee is something we have when we’re under the weather, with and without meatballs!
I didn’t know there were Chinese meatballs.. I sorta want to try this recipe now just to do a little comparison with the more Italian inspired ones I grew up eating. They sure sound appetizing. ^^
They certainly are, and you will find them in Korea too.
Splendid. Thanks for sharing. I will surely try the recipe.
Oh I love meatballs! The Asian variety look delectable.
Thanks Shane, they sure are, and so very different!
Nom nom nom… Meatballs are a favorite of mine. It’s easy to make. I am looking forward to trying this at home.
Thanks Jen!
Looks delicious! Wondering if my kids will eat them… guess I’ll give it a try!
Thanks, let me know how it goes!
Thanks so much for this yummy recipe and helps video. Cant wait to try these Chinese meatballs myself.
Thank you guys, have fun!
This doesn’t look as hard as I thought that it would be! I really want to make this to go into my noodle soups, I think it would be a great addition!
I think so too, and you’re right, it’s pretty easy.
Yay, yay, yay, homemade meatballs! Recipe looks easy enough, and that video is a big help. You know why I like your recipes? You always go the extra mile – perfect for noobs like me, so far away from home!
Thanks Henny, I totally appreciate you telling me that. Glad to know I can help. I remember what it was like, new in London in the 90s and missing REAL home food!
Hahaha, I’m one of those naughty old readers you are talking about, right? Good! I’m glad to see you responding and am really happy to see this recipe. I have never made these but obviously love them in soups but the shop bought ones always got MSG and E numbers, and not much actual meat! So, this one is bookmarked for this weekend, when I’ll have lots of free time and I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to the Bak chor Mee recipe!
Lol, of course not! I’m glad to know you’ll be trying this, let me know how it goes ok?