Recipe Snapshot: Asian Turkey Meatballs

Every year for the last few, I've thrown an Oscar party. My husband and I have a few (the most ever was 15) people over to watch the red carpet, watch and heckle the show, see who can pick the most winners, and of course, eat.  I typically make a mix of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres.  I've learned over the years that when I try new recipes for the first time right before the party, I become stressed, and it makes it hard for me to enjoy my own party!  Last year I finally got it right.  I had tried most of the recipes in the weeks before the party, so I could prepare everything confidently.  I planned it out so I had time to spare, and actually had time for a short nap in the afternoon before my guests came over.  The party was a LOT more fun for me.

To that end, I have a few recipes picked out for next weekend's Oscar party, and at least one of the recipes was perfect for making into a weeknight meal: asian turkey meatballs. I found this recipe on a food blog I started to follow off and on more recently--SkinnyTaste.com (Gina's Skinny Recipes). These meatballs can be made larger for a weeknight meal, or smaller to be served as an appetizer.  They were super easy to make, and dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes!  I was able to get most of the prep done while the oven was preheating.

I served these meatballs with precooked brown rice (the Uncle Ben's stuff in the plastic packets). The plain brown rice is great because it comes out properly and has very low sodium; when I try to make brown rice at home, it always comes out badly.  I heated two packages in the microwave and then tossed the rice with 2 cups of shredded mixed cabbage (cole slaw mix, minus the dressing), some extra scallions, cilantro and ginger (all in the meatballs, so just prep some extra), and just a splash of sesame oil.  We drizzled the dipping sauce that goes with the meatballs over the whole plate, so some got mixed in with the rice, too, which was yummy.  And healthy!

Recipe below the cut!

Asian Turkey Meatballs, recipe from SkinnyTaste.com
Serves: 4 (3 large meatballs each). Time: less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients

for the meatballs

• 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced (or grated)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil

for the dipping sauce

• 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 chopped fresh scallion

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500°F.
2. Combine ground turkey, panko, egg, ginger, garlic, salt, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, and oil.  Mix with your hands until combined well. Wet your hands and shape 1/4 cup (just shy) meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture.
3. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
4. For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.
5. Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.
6. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 tablespoon per person. Chances are you won't use all the dipping sauce.