We love Asian cuisine. Thailand, Vietnam, China, or Japan – all countries have so many different and delicious dishes. Actually, so many delicious dishes it’s sometimes hard to make a choice ;) We love recipes that use a lot of veggies, but the ones with meat are also pretty popular here. This one here – Spicy Meatballs with Rice & Cucumber Salad – is a good example. Rice, meat, and veggies are a great combination! If you like it spicy this might be the perfect dish for you. But even people that prefer it milder can prepare this meal – you can adjust the level of spiciness easily here. We want everyone to be happy here ;)
This dish – the combination of meatballs, rice, and cucumber salad – happened actually by accident. We love to make Smashed Cucumber Salad because it is such an easy salad with great flavors. We also do quite often meatballs – something you can combine with a lot of sauces or simply eat as a snack during the day ;) At some point, both ended up on one plate. In order to get a better matching flavor profile we bathed the meatballs in a spicy sauce. Well… and added some rice. A new favorite dish came to life ;P
The meatballs, rice, and salad are super easy to prepare and work well for meal prepping. We normally make more than necessary for two and keep the rest in the fridge for another day. Also, a great option for your lunch at the office – you just need a microwave to warm up the rice and meatballs ;) The meatballs are good to eat for several days – the salad should be eaten the next day latest. It would still be edible after 2-3 days, but it will not look as nice after such a long time ;P
As mentioned above, you can adjust the spiciness level here quite easily. The cayenne pepper in the meatballs is not added to make them spicy – the meat just needs some peppery flavor to taste good. The Crispy Chili Oil in the sauce is giving this dish its heat. With the amount listed in the recipe, you will get a decent spiciness, not too hot. If you are used to spicy food you might want to add more right away – everybody else can try first and then adjust to their liking… before adding the meatballs to the sauce ;P If you are not sure at all – start with a smaller amount and add more if you like it.
The Smashed Cucumber Salad served with the meatballs can also be found here on the blog (as mentioned above). If you are into spicy Asian dishes you might also want to try our Spicy Pork Udon Noodles. Also, super easy to prepare and also seasoned with Crispy Chili Oil… we love that stuff. Can you tell? ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
For the meatballs:
some oil for frying
1 small red onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
17.6 oz. (500g) ground pork/beef mixed
1 medium egg
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
For the sauce:
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) water
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil*
2 tbsp. crispy chili oil*
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. cornstarch
cooked rice for serving
some spring onion rings for serving
(4 Portionen)
Für die Fleischbällchen:
etwas Öl zum Anbraten
1 kleine rote Zwiebel, fein gewürfelt
2 Knoblauchzehen, fein gewürfelt
500g Hackfleisch (gemischt)
1 Ei (M)
1 EL geriebener Ingwer
2 EL Koriander, gehackt
1/2 TL Cayennepfeffer
Salz, Pfeffer
Für die Sauce:
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, sehr fein gehackt
60ml Sojasauce
60ml Wasser
2 EL Honig
2 EL geröstetes Sesamöl*
2 EL Crispy Chili Oil*
1 EL Sesamsamen
1 EL Speisestärke
gekochter Reis zum Servieren
einige Frühlingszwiebelringe zum Servieren
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Peel and chop the red onion and garlic finely. Add some oil to a non-stick frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft and glossy. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the ground meat, egg, grated ginger, chopped cilantro, and cayenne pepper. Season well with salt and pepper and mix until everything is well combined. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
2. While the meat is resting prepare the sauce. Peel the garlic and mince finely. Add together with the soy sauce, water, honey, sesame oil, crispy chili oil, sesame seeds, and cornstarch to a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
3. Shape the meat mixture into 12-15 meatballs – I like to make different sizes. Heat up the frying pan once again with some more oil and fry the meatballs until nicely browned from all sides and cooked through – about 6-8 minutes. Take the meatballs out of the pan for a moment, then add the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and let thicken, then add the meatballs back to the pan and mix them with the sauce until nicely coated.
4. Serve the meatballs on top of some cooked rice, sprinkled with some spring onion rings and Smashed Cucumber Salad.
1. Zwiebel und Knoblauch schälen und fein hacken. Etwas Öl in einer beschichteten Pfanne erhitzen und beides glasig andünsten. In eine Schüssel geben und kurz abkühlen lassen. Hackfleisch, Ei, geriebenen Ingwer, Koriander und Cayennepfeffer dazugeben, mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken und alles gut vermischen. Etwa 10 Minuten ziehen lassen.
2. Für die Sauce den Knoblauch schälen und fein hacken. Zusammen mit Sojasauce, Wasser, Honig, Sesamöl, Chili Oil, Sesam und Stärke in eine kleine Schüssel geben und und gut verrühren. Zur Seite stellen.
3. Aus der Hackmischung etwa 12-15 Fleischbällchen formen. Die Pfanne noch einmal mit etwas Öl erhitzen und die Fleischbällchen darin rundum anbraten – etwa 6-8 Minuten. Die Fleischbällchen kurz aus der Pfanne nehmen, dann die Mischung für die Sauce in die Pfanne geben und aufkochen lassen. Wenn die Sauce angedickt hat, die Fleischbällchen zurück in die Pfanne geben und in der Sauce schwenken, bis sie rundum bedeckt sind mit der Sauce.
4. Die Fleischbällchen auf gekochtem Reis, einigen Frühlingszwiebelringen und Smashed Cucumber Salat servieren.
Craving more? Keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for new post updates and more. You can also contact me with any questions or inquiries!
Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Spicy Meatballs with Cucumber Salad & Rice
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:15
- Total Time: 00:50
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: China
Description
Delicious and easy to prepare: Spicy Meatballs with Cucumber Salad and Rice have become a favorite in our family. So good you want them every day!
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
some oil for frying
1 small red onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
17.6 oz. (500g) ground pork/beef mixed
1 medium egg
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper
For the sauce:
2–3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) water
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil*
2 tbsp. crispy chili oil*
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. cornstarch
cooked rice for serving
some spring onion rings for serving
Instructions
1. Peel and chop the red onion and garlic finely. Add some oil to a non-stick frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft and glossy. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the ground meat, egg, grated ginger, chopped cilantro, and cayenne pepper. Season well with salt and pepper and mix until everything is well combined. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
2. While the meat is resting prepare the sauce. Peel the garlic and mince finely. Add together with the soy sauce, water, honey, sesame oil, crispy chili oil, sesame seeds, and cornstarch to a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
3. Shape the meat mixture into 12-15 meatballs – I like to make different sizes. Heat up the frying pan once again with some more oil and fry the meatballs until nicely browned from all sides and cooked through – about 6-8 minutes. Take the meatballs out of the pan for a moment, then add the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and let thicken, then add the meatballs back to the pan and mix them with the sauce until nicely coated.
4. Serve the meatballs on top of some cooked rice, sprinkled with some spring onion rings and Smashed Cucumber Salad.
Notes
Enjoy some spiciness!
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links (advertising/Werbung) to Amazon Germany. If you click on one of those links and buy something via this link, I will get a commission for that sale. The price of whatever you buy is not affected in any way by this.
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
