Oriental Meatballs

The third bout of meatball goodness! We go even further east for these delicious Chinese style meatballs. Ginger, garlic and coriander are the classic Chinese combo that come together in this dish.

Unlike the previous meatballs recipes, these meatballs are done in the oven, not the pan,  facilitating the slightly looser mixture. The meatballs are great served on their own with a little soy, Oriental Dipping Sauce or sweet chili sauce. Alternatively, they go great with a vegetable stir fry with some soy or oyster sauce or simply served with noodles.
The following recipe makes 30-35 meatballs.

Ingredients

• 250g lean turkey mince (Extra lean beef or pork mince would also work well)

• 2 x slices of Weight watchers whole meal bread, blitzed with a hand blender (Approximately 50-55g) or 50g of Panko Japanese breadcrumbs

• 1 beef stock cube, crumbled (I know it's turkey, it just works!)

• 1 heaped teaspoon of fresh ginger, finely grated or blitzed with a hand blender

• 1 heaped teaspoon teaspoon of fresh garlic, finely grated or blitzed with a hand blender

• 2-3 medium spring onions. Washed, topped, tailed and finely sliced
• a small bunch of coriander, washed and finely chopped
• 15g grated parmesan cheese (I know, I know... trust me!)

• 1 medium egg. Lightly beaten

• 2 teaspoons of light soy sauce

• 3-4 dashes of sesame sauce

• a couple of dashes of white pepper

• 4 sprays of Fry Light One Cal spray oil to line the baking tray
• A little chopped spring onion or a sprinkle of sesame seeds for garnish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with tin foil and add the four sprays of spray oil to the tray.
2. Add the turkey, breadcrumbs, stock cube, ginger, garlic, spring onions, coriander and parmesan cheese to a large bowl and combine, breaking the mince into smaller pieces. 
3. Next, add the egg, soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper and continue to mix well for a minute or so. If the mixture is a little dry, you can add a small splash of low fat milk. (If the mixture is too wet, you can add a few more breadcrumbs).
4. To shape the meatballs, I find it's best to wet one hand. Take approximately 1 heaped teaspoon full of the mince mixture and place it in the palm of your wet hand. Use the fingers of your dry hand to roll the mixture into a ball. Continue with the mixture to make approximately 30-35 meatballs. Wet your hand again a couple of times during the process. Place the completed meatballs on the baking sheet.
5. Dust the completed meatballs with the white pepper and bake in the oven for approximately 7-8 minutes.
6. Carefully remove the meatballs from the oven and carefully turn them using two spoons or tongs. Give the meatballs a second dusting of white pepper (and a further spray of oil, if you like) and return the meatballs to the oven for a further 7-8 minutes. (You can give the meatballs another shake half way through this second 7-8 minutes).
7. Transfer the meatballs to a warmed dish or serving plate and serve. Serve with a little chopped spring onion or a coupe of sesame seeds.