Ugly Meatballs

My partner was coming home for dinner and I was not in the mood to cook. hah..hah..hah... You gals know what I am talking about, right? When that lazy mood hits you, you just don't feel like doing anything, let alone cooking.

I didn't have the heart to tell him to "tapau" (take away food) because as far as possible, I want to cook for him. The easiest thing to cook would be meatballs. All I needed to do was to mix the minced meat with onions, salt, pepper, egg and some cornflour. Then I decided to add grated carrots and green peas.

But I was really lazy that day and I simply did not feel like frying the meatballs. So I decided to experiment by baking the meatballs. I checked a few recipes to confirm the method.

I lined a baking tray with aluminium foil. Then I rubbed some oil on the foil so that the meatballs won't stick. After that I rolled the meatballs and placed them on the tray. I brushed some oil on them using a pastry brush (which I later discovered is not necessary).

I have put a bit too much carrots and the meatballs did not come together that well. Then I baked the whole lot at 200C for 20 minutes. I flipped the meatballs at half time (again, this flipping is not necessary). In spite of the oil, they still stuck to the foil. To confirm if they were cooked, I cut one meatball and checked the center. Yes, it was done.

There was still some meatballs leftover that could not fit into the baking tray. So in spite of my laziness, I pan fried them. They looked hideous....

....but they were delicious. Especially so when dipped with my new favorite chilli sauce - Sriracha.

The baked meatballs are not attractive as they are not brown like those which are fried. But they tasted good all the same and they are a lot more convenient to cook. I'm glad that I did not allow laziness to get the better of me as I also managed to boil a pot of vegetable soup :)

Baked Meatballs

Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

- 380g minced pork

- 1 big onion, minced

- grated carrots

- green peas

- 1 egg

- 1 heaped tablespoon cornflour

- salt and pepper to taste

Method :

1. Mix all the ingredients together until the mixture becomes sticky and gluey.

2. Rest the mixture in the fridge for about an hour.

3. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and rub some oil to coat the foil.

4. Take the minced meat out of the fridge to come to room temperature.

5. Roll into balls and place on the lined tray.

6. Brush the meatballs with some oil and bake at 200C for about 20 minutes or until slightly browned and cooked at the center.