Check it out—orange chicken without the deep-frying. Yes, it’s a thing—at least it is in my home. It’s my riff on the classic orange chicken recipe by flipping it to a meatball, avoiding the deep frying and taking a few liberties with the ingredients. The flavor is all there, albeit a bit spicier, but you can always leave out the Sambal sauce for a milder version.
Orange chicken is one of my little guys favorite, but I’ve never been a big fan. I don’t like the coating and most times it’s not nearly flavorful enough. Keeping those things in mind, when I worked the recipe for this orange chicken meatball: (1) I skipped the coating, since I was not deep frying. (2) I added minced ginger, Thai basil and Sambal for a pop in flavor. (3) To solve the sometimes dry texture of chicken meatballs I added in some pork for added moisture and tenderness. (4) I love working with jams, because it’s a fast and easy way to add flavor, so I made a sauce to coat the meatballs and for dipping (for those that like their meatballs drenched in sauce).
Orage Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients:
For the meatballs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Sambal Olek sauce (this is a chili paste found in the Asian section of most food stores)
- 3 leaves Thai basil, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
- 3 tablespoons onion and garlic jam (I used Stonewall Kitchen)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon Sambal Olek sauce (this is a chili paste found in the Asian section of most food stores)
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