Asian Quinoa Meatballs

By PineyCook

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Sesame seeds, for garnish
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, quinoa, garlic, onions, egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha, salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 18-20 meatballs.

Place meatballs onto the prepared baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until all sides are browned and meatballs are cooked through.

To make the sauce, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, sesame oil, Sriracha and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium high heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir into soy sauce mixture until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Handle the Heat

I get tubes of a ground veggie product at Whole Foods and make really good meatballs with it.it is in the cooler by the veggie lunch meat and sausages. It works great.

I dried (but didn’t press) a block of firm tofu for a few hours (wrapped in a clean, dry kitchen towel) and crumbled it in lieu of the turkey. Instead of the egg, I just used some starch (potato or arrowroot, or Ener-G), and I also sprinkled in ~1tsp of powdered veggie broth (my favorite is the Rapunzel brand). I then doubled the bake time, flipping them over halfway through. The “meat”ball texture was airy, light, but they do fall apart easily so would NOT be toothpick-friendly (if serving as an appetizer). Next time I’ll add more quinoa, maybe 1.5 times, and some slivered almonds. Oh, actually, grinding up some nuts would be a great idea to add as they’ll help make them a bit denser …. I don’t think the veggie bouillon made a difference, so I’ll leave it out. I haven’t eaten meat in nearly twenty-five years so I don’t know how they compared to le vrai chose, but we all liked them! A bit too spicy for my eight year-old, so lots of rice to help dull it a bit. I also doubled the brown sugar in the sauce because it was a too acidic, but I think a healthy squirt of agave would also work.

The decision is really yours on how much garlic to add as cloves of garlic can range in size from half a teaspoon, to half a tablespoon, and even up to a tablespoon.

I’m so glad you gave this a try! But unfortunately, I do not have any tips on freezing as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating. And yes, I always grate my ginger on a microplane grater. It’s the best (and easiest) way to grate in my opinion.

This turned out really good! Plan to make it again. Yummy Over rice!

I made these tonight for dinner, they were fantastic, loved the sauce. This will be getting added to my faves! Think it would be a great to make them bite sized for a party app. Thanks for a perfect recipe.

I substituted ground chicken for ground turkey – bad idea! Came out very watery and I had to use a ton of breadcrumbs to soak it up. Otherwise, this was delicious, would definitely make again! I doubled the sauce recipe as well and found that it was the perfect amount.

I’ll try these served on a bed of noodles. And if I’m feeling really creative, you could make these meatballs slightly smaller and wrap them inside a dumpling for a doubly Asian appetizer!

Hi, I made these meatballs last night and omg were they delicious!!! However, I noticed that meatball mixture was very gooey when I went to form them into balls, and had to end up cooking for around 30+ mins. Is that normal or just me? I did noticed the lean ground turkey I used was a tab bit watery, perhaps I should have patted it dry before combine everything together? has this happened to anyone else?

Hi. I made these appetizers for a party we had last night and it was the only appetizer that got completely eaten. And the people who didn’t regularly eat healthy couldn’t belive that it was (healthy). I ended up adding finely chopped carrot to the mixture and drizzled on a little sweet chili sauce at the end (maybe 2T). I made the meatballs ahead of time and then put on the sauce and let them hang out in the fridge. Then warmed them back up in the oven. They still held together and the sauce cartelized a bit too. All in all pretty awesome. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.

I make a similar meatballs that the family loves but have never thought to substitute some meat for quinoa. Not only healthier but makes the meal less expensive. That’s a brilliant idea! Just a suggestion, put the sauce over the meatballs at about 15 minutes and let it bake for about 10 more. It makes the most delicious thick coat of the sauce on each meatball.

I added about 2t fresh ginger, 2 T chopped fresh cilantro and some panko breadcrumbs to tighten up the mixture. Loved them!!!! I also tried them with sweet thai chili sauce which hit the spot.

Can we replace ground turkey with pork or chicken? Not easy to find turkey where I live.

Another winner! Next time I make these, I’ll double the sauce. We had these meatballs with a side of quinoa and steamed vegetables. So yummy!

Your email address will not be published.