Inspired by Mark Bittman’s Broken Wonton soup recipe, I modified his ground pork mixture to create these crispy, flavorful balls of delish, swimming in a spicy coconut curry sauce. I used green chili paste which I buy at a specialty Asian grocery store, but you can use red chili paste as well. Just go easy, cuz it’s a bit spicy! If you go overboard, just add some more coconut milk or heavy cream to tone it down.
The frying of the meatballs is just to add the crispy outer layer– panko works best. You’ll end up cooking them through in the oven for a half hour or so. Loved how easy this was– and the sauce can be heated back up and put on chicken or pasta….if you have any left, that is!
Crispy Pork Balls in a Spicy Coconut Curry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 2 scallions diced
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tb soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- ½ tsp ginger
- Sprinkle of salt
- Panko for coating meatballs
- Canola oil for frying
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 Tb fresh ginger
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 Tb green chili paste
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp coriander
- ½ tsp ginger
- 1 Tb curry powder
- Pinch of kosher salt to taste
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
For the pork balls
For the sauce
Instructions
- Combine ground pork, garlic, egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, 5 spice powder, ginger, scallions and salt in a bowl. Mix gently until combined. Roll into golf ball sized balls and coat in panko. Heat up canola oil in a large, wide rimmed frying pan (about an inch of oil) on medium heat. When oil sizzles, add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400. Drain and put meatballs on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Saute garlic cloves and ginger in butter for a minute or so and add green chili paste. Stir until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, and spices and stir to combine. Let simmer on low/medium heat until ready to serve.
- Serve meatballs over rice noodles, with sauce ladled on top.
For the meatballs
For the sauce