Thirty pounds of ground beef with our quarter-cow, but a gal can only eat so many burgers. So we’ve branched out. One recurring favorite is a big dish of meatballs with minty yogurt and rice pilaf, and another the lemongrass meatball, which we’ve just discovered this week. This smaller meatball makes for an easy, good looking appetizer, though admittedly the real discovery is the sweet chili dipping sauce, whose flavors make everything taste new.
Recipe: Lemongrass Meatballs
Meatballs: 1 lb. ground pork, beef, or a combination / 1 tbl chopped cilantro / 2 tsps fish sauce / 1 tbl soy sauce / 1 tsp sugar / 2 tsps garlic, minced / 2 tsps lemongrass, minced / 2 tsps baking powder / ½ tsp salt
Dipping Sauce: ¼ cup rice vinegar / ¼ cup water / 1 tbl chili paste, or to taste / 2 tsps cornstarch / 3 tbls sugar, more if you like a sweet sauce / 1 tbls cilantro, chopped
Combine meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl and shape into pieces the size of golf balls. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in 2 tbls vegetable oil. When hot, add meatballs without crowding. Moderate heat so the exterior browns but does not burn; turn meatballs every 3 minutes or so to cook evenly. They are done when cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Makes about 24 appetizer-sized meatballs.
Meanwhile, mix the rice vinegar, water, chili paste, cornstarch, and sugar, ensuring that the cornstarch dissolves thoroughly. Heat mixture over high heat in a saucepan, boiling for 3 minutes or so until the mixture turns transluent. Cool before stirring in cilantro and serve alongside meatballs.
Eat Local Northwest 
4 comments
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March 9, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Dakota
Oooh, I’ll have to try both these recipes (the potstickers and the meatballs). I’ve still got a bunch of my frozen buffalo in the freezer and I’m still looking for new ways to use it! Any suggestions on substitutions for the cilantro in the sauce though?
March 9, 2009 at 1:19 pm
audrey
Hi Dakota, you could try mint instead of cilantro or just skip the herb. The sauce is still good without the green stuff. I bet the buffalo will be especially good for the meatballs.
March 10, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Harris Teeter
Have you ever thought about using frozen meatballs and dipping them in grape jelly? I hadn’t, but then someone served that to me, which made me think about it. It was disgusting. Don’t make that.
March 10, 2009 at 9:12 pm
audrey
Dear Harris, I must admit I have never thought to dip anything in grape jelly. But don’t knock the frozen meatball. I predict you will find the meatball and its ilk fairly handy in the not-so-distant future.