Ingredients
- Meatballs:
- 500 g (17 1/2 Oz) Beef Mince
- 1 brown onion, finely diced.
- 1 tsp. garlic
- 1 Cup Breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp. Parsley, chopped (Fresh or Dried)
- Salt & Pepper
- Sweet & Sour Sauce:
- 1 x (440g/15 1/2 Oz) can, Pineapple Pieces, unsweetened juice (Don’t drain)
- 1 Large Red/green bell pepper, quatered
- 1 Brown onion, quartered
- 1 Carrot peeled & sliced
- 1 tsp. Ginger, crushed
- 3 Tbsp. Brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 4 Tbsp. Ketchup
- 2 Tbsp. Soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Corn-starch
- 2 Tbsp. Water
Preparation
Step 1
Instructions:
In a bowl, combine the beef mince, diced onion, garlic, egg, parsley, breadcrumbs and season lightly with salt & pepper.
Roll the mix into balls. (2 Tbsp. each should give you nicely sized balls)
In a fry-pan over medium heat, brown the meatballs and then put to the side.
In the slow cooker, mix together the brown sugar, ketchup, ginger, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice and lastly the soy sauce.
Add the meatballs, bell pepper, pineapple pieces and the carrot.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for about 4 hours.
Just before you go to serve, mix together the water and corn-starch until it forms a paste.
Add the paste into the slow cooker and mix until well combined.
Allow to cook for about 15 minutes to help cook out the cornstarch.
Serve & Enjoy
Cooking Tips:
As with any type of slow cooking you don’t need to fry off the meatballs/meat before adding it to the slow cooker. However, you may notice a difference in taste and texture. The meatballs in this case may fall apart if they’re not browned beforehand.
You can add more vegetables to the sweet and sour sauce if you’re looking to add more to this dish. Button mushrooms, water chestnuts are just a couple of great vegetables that you’re able to add to this delicious recipe.
If you don’t mind a super runny sauce, then you don’t need to add the corn-starch. Unfortunately, one side effect of slow cookers is their tendency to be very soupy because the cooking method doesn’t allow moisture to evaporate.
You can swap out the beef mince for a different type of meat. For example pork or even chicken will go really well in this dish but it’s totally up to you.