Korean Meatballs

Korean food is not something I eat a lot of. I like bulgogi and that's about all I've had. I like the flavors in Korean food and so when I saw this recipe I thought it'd be a fun one to try. 

And I was right!

Somewhat simple recipe but it packs a lot of flavor. The gochujang is so robust in it's flavor and it definitely puts off the heat. First time cooking with it, and I love it. 

If you don't know what gochujang is: 

"Gochujang or red chili paste is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu, glutinous rice, meju powder, yeotgireum, and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice, cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process.

I can see why so many people get obsessed with this condiment. It's amazing. Better than, dare I say, sriracha. I suppose better isn't far, it's different and it's delicious. 

Ok. I'll stop gushing over gochujang. Make this recipe! 5 STARS! 

The sauce was spicy, the meatballs didn't appear that spicy. You can control that spice though by more or less gochujang. 

The ONLY change I made is used a keto friendly brown sugar and honey.

Korean Meatballs

Recipe from Dancearoundthekitchen.com

Serves 4-6

Meatballs

• 1 lb 80-85% lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 2 tablespoon sliced green onions
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ c saltine crumbs (or panko bread crumbs)

Sauce + Garnishes

• ¼ c water
• ¼ c soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoon vinegar
• ½ c brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• ¼ c honey
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
• Sesame seeds and additional green onions for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, add ground beef, gochujang, green onions, egg, garlic, ginger and saltine crumbs.

Use a wooden spoon or your hands to combine.

Scoop and roll about 1 inch meatballs; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the center of the meatball reaches 160°F.

While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce. In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk together the water, soy, cornstarch and vinegar. Then whisk in the brown sugar, gochujang and honey.

Place the sauce over medium heat, whisking frequently, until it reaches a boil. Let the sauce boil for 5 minutes and remove from the heat.

Once the meatballs are out of the oven, add them to the sauce and carefully stir to coat.

Garnish with additional sliced green onions and sesame seeds.