Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

A certain someone in NZ tells me she is tired of the sweet stuff and pleaded for something savory. Pretty please. So cousin LC, these meatballs are for you. 

I made these meatballs last weekend when I had hardly anything left in my fridge. I missed my weekend grocery shopping and all I had were onions, garlic, eggs and a blob of frozen minced meat. At least these were the basic building blocks for something meatbally. Upon further inspection of the inner recess of my fridge I also found some tomatoes and zucchini. But no spring onions. Would chives do? I have a pot growing in my garden. 

There's a lot of stuff in my fridge and freezer. I really have to clear them out. I have a bad habit of buying too much and sometimes, I end up with wilted vegetables and UFOs (Unidentified Frozen Objects). So this was a good time to start using up whatever that is available. I started off by defrosting the minced meat early in the morning. Once the meat was defrosted, I minced one big onion and 3 cloves of garlic. I also went out to the garden and harvested a handful of chives. These were washed and cut into small pieces. I put the minced meat into a mixing bowl and to that I added the onions, garlic and chives. Next was 3 tablespoons of light soya sauce, one egg and lots of freshly ground pepper. All these were mixed with a tablespoon of potato flour to bind everything together.

I put the meatball mixture into the fridge to firm up and meanwhile, I sliced one big brown onion, tomatoes, zucchini and red chillies. Originally I wanted this to be Meatballs with Plum Sauce but after turning my kitchen, fridge and pantry upside down, I realized that I don't have any plum sauce. I swore I saw a bottle not too long ago. Hmmmph! Change of plans. For the sauce, I mixed tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, soya sauce, maple syrup, water and some cornflour. Maple syrup? That was just part of my clean up plan because I happen to have a bottle of maple syrup in the fridge which I used here.

Then it was time to fry the meatballs. I actually dread deep frying because (1) it makes my kitchen oily and (2) it is very boring standing at the stove. So I did what I am not supposed to do. I switched on the TV. My Grandmother's Ravioli was on and while waiting for my meatballs to brown, I watched the show. Which explain why some of my meatballs are extra brown. If Law & Order was on, I swear there would be a few burnt meatballs :D

After the meatballs were done, all I had to do was to quickly stir fry the onions, zucchini, tomatoes and chillies and pour the sauce into the wok and bring it to a boil. Then I returned the meatballs to the wok and briskly tossed them with the vegetables to coat evenly with the sauce. Done! Serve! Eat!

Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

For meatballs :
- 380g minced meat
- 1 big onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- a handful of chives, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons of light soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
- lots of freshly ground pepper

Vegetables :
- 1 large Bombay onion
- half a small zucchini, thinly sliced
- 2 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 red chilies, sliced

Sauce :
- 4 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sugar to taste)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornflour

Note : For the sauce, please adjust to taste. I like my sauce to be robust and thick. The amount I used above is just enough to coat the meatballs and vegetables.

Method :

For meatballs :
1. Mixed all the ingredients together evenly and set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
2. Take the minced meat out from the fridge and form them into balls, as big or as small as you like.
2. Heat up enough oil in a wok and deep fry the meatballs until cooked and brown. Drain on paper towels.

For sauce :
1. In a clean wok, heat up enough oil to saute the onions until translucent.
2. Add zucchini and stir fry for a minute.
3. Add tomatoes and chilies and stir fry for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the sauce into the wok and increase heat to boil and thicken the sauce.
5. Add meatballs and stir fry briskly to coat all the ingredients evenly with the sauce.
6. Dish out and serve.