Korean-Style Chicken & Chilli Meatballs with Gochujang Maple Glaze
& Roasted Sesame Mayo.
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PREP + COOK TIME: 1 hour
Ingredients
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Ingredients ✴
Chicken, Chilli & Coriander Meatballs:
4 spring onions, white part only, roughly chopped
1 large piece (40g) ginger, roughly chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, peeled
1 large red chilli, roughly chopped
4 free-range boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 650g), cut into 5cm chunks
1 large handful (about ½ cup packed) coriander
2 tsp low-sodium fish sauce (or 1 tsp regular fish sauce)
1 tsp each gochujang & white sugar
½ tsp each toasted sesame oil & table salt
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
Gochujang Sauce:
½ tsp cornflour
2 Tbsp low-sodium fish sauce (or 1 Tbsp regular fish sauce + 1 Tbsp water)
2 Tbsp each light soy sauce & brown sugar
1 Tbsp each gochujang paste & maple syrup
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
To Serve:
Spinach & Sesame Salad (optional, recipe below)
Roasted Sesame Mayo (optional, recipe below)
Cooked white sushi rice
Thinly sliced spring onion & toasted sesame seeds, to garnish
Directions
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Directions ✴
Preheat the Panasonic Combi Air Fry Microwave to 200°C on the convection setting. Line the oven tray thoroughly with baking paper (so the sauce doesn’t drip off and burn on the tray).
Chicken, Chilli & Coriander Meatballs: Add the spring onion (white part only), ginger, garlic and chilli to a food processor. Pulse together several times, until everything is very finely chopped. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the mixture and set this aside in a separate bowl for the sauce. Add the chicken to the food processor along with the coriander, fish sauce, gochujang, sugar, sesame oil and salt. Blend together for about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the processor when needed, or until the mixture starts to bind together and everything is well combined/distributed. Add the panko and pulse again a few times, until combined. Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to soak.
Using oiled hands, roll about 2 tablespoons worth of the chicken mixture into balls. Set aside on a plate until ready to cook.
Gochujang Sauce: Whisk the cornflour together with 1 Tbsp cold water in a small bowl to form a slurry. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, gochujang, maple syrup, rice vinegar and another 2 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk together and set aside. Heat a drizzle of neutral oil in a small pot on medium heat. Add the reserved chopped spring onion + ginger + garlic + chilli mixture and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant. Add the soy sauce and gochujang mixture, stir together and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, until the sauce is glossy and thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to use.
To Finish: Cook the rice, make the spinach sesame salad and make roasted sesame mayo, if using.
Bake Meatballs: Place the meatballs evenly spaced on the prepared oven tray. Drizzle generously with some neutral oil. Bake for an initial 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are lightly golden brown. Spoon the gochujang sauce over each meatball (make sure you use all of the sauce, don’t worry if it drips onto the tray). Return to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce is glossy, bubbling and starting to caramelise - the meatballs should now be cooked through too.
Serve: Serve the meatballs with the rice and spinach sesame salad. Drizzle over any sauce left on the tray. Drizzle over the sesame mayo and garnish with the spring onion and sesame seeds.
Spinach & Sesame Salad (optional):
500g fresh spinach, roots trimmed
2 spring onions, dark green part only, thinly sliced into rounds
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp each light soy sauce & toasted sesame oil
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the spinach to the pot and turn the heat off. Blanch the spinach for about 30 seconds, or until completely wilted. Drain the spinach through a colander and rinse with cold running water, until the spinach is cooled completely. Using your hands, squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the spinach. Roughly chop the drained and squeezed spinach and add to a medium bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Season with a pinch of salt and toss everything together. Set aside until ready to serve.
Roasted Sesame Mayo (optional):
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp hulled tahini
1 tsp each light soy, brown sugar & toasted sesame oil
½ tsp rice wine vinegar
Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender or mini food-processor. Blend together until smooth. Season to taste with soy sauce and set aside to serve.