Kung Pao Asian Meatballs Recipe
Asian meatballs are made with ground chicken and chili paste, and are packed with flavor. Yummy Kung Pao sauce is added after they’re baked!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken See Note 1
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp chili paste See Note 2
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing rice wine See Note 3
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar See Note 4
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Stir Fry
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 cup peanuts shelled
- 10 dried red chiles
- 4 green onions cut into 1" pieces
- 1 garlic clove minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
Meatballs
- In a bowl, mix together the ground meat, peanut butter, chili paste, soy sauce, rice wine and breadcrumbs. Form into 20 meatballs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet with sides.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
Kung Pao Sauce
- In a small bowl whisk together the water, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In a hot skillet or wok add the oil and stir fry the peanuts and dried chiles for a minute. Add the green onions and garlic and toss to mix, cooking for a minute. Add the sauce mixture and quickly toss, cooking for 2 minutes until thickened. If too thick, thin with a little chicken stock (optional).
- Add the meatballs and toss to coat, heating through. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute ground turkey.
- I use a ground chili paste Sambal Oelek.
- If you can’t find Chinese rice wine, dry sherry or sake may be substituted.
- Red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar may be substituted for the rice wine vinegar.
Nutrition
Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 1230mg | Potassium: 911mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 459IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg