I am counting down to Chinese New Year on February 19 and can’t wait to celebrate!
My Spicy Asian Meatballs are the perfect way to bring in the New Year!
Great food, family, and fun is very important to planning a proper Chinese New Year celebration.
I have all 3 aspects covered and I am starting with the food!
I love my spices and I created a wonderful spice blend full of my favorites such as paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and of course creole seasoning.
I also added a touch of crushed dried oregano and chili powder.
The chili powder not only adds to the spice level it also gives the sauce a beautiful color.
I rolled my meatballs into golf ball size.
I used a 1/4 measuring cup so all my meatballs are pretty much the same size.
If you’re serving this as a main dish you can make larger meatballs.
For appetizers you can go a little smaller.
Next, I sauteed chipotle peppers and garlic in a little oil then added all the remaining ingredients.
You can find candied ginger and tamarind in the ethnic section in the grocery store.
We’re creating this rich, spicy, tangy, with a hint of sweetness sauce that is beyond delicious.
I placed the meatballs onto a greased casserole dish then smothered them in the sauce.
Yes, smothered, you’ll understand once you taste the sauce.
After about 30 minutes of baking time the meatballs are ready to eat!
I served them with my “family famous” yellow rice but white steamed rice would work.
You can also serve them on a tray with toothpicks as an appetizer.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground turkey or beef
- 1/2 cup onion, pureed
- 1 tablespoon creole seasoning
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
- 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon oregano, crushed
- extra virgin olive oil
- green onions to garnish
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3/4 cup tamarind, dried, candied
- 3/4 cup ginger, dried, candied
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chipotle peppers, minced
- 1 cup barbeque sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add ginger and tamarind to a blender and blend until finely chopped.
- Mix seasoning blend and set aside.
- Place ground turkey into a large bowl, add pureed onion.
- Add seasoning blend and mix well.
- Form meatballs and place in a greased casserole dish and pour sauce over meatballs.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, basting with sauce about every 10 minutes.
- Sauce can be thinned if desired with extra broth.
- serve with hot rice or as an appetizer.
- Add about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to a sauce pot over medium heat.
- Add chipotle peppers and garlic, saute for about 2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil.
