Asian Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce

Happy Chinese New Year! In honor of the Year of the Tiger, make these this weekend...

Made a little smaller, they would be great speared on a toothpick at a party. I prepared them as a part of a meal where we sampled several Asian dishes. I am thinking next time of throwing a couple on top of some soba noodles tossed in the dipping sauce for a spaghetti meal, Far East style.

Asian Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce
From Gourmet magazine.
Makes 24 meatballs.

1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
3/4 pound ground pork
3/4 pound ground veal (I used all pork when I first prepared them.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, rinsed, drained, and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus 1/4 cup sprigs
5 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Pour milk over bread crumbs in a large bowl and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add ground meat, egg, water chestnuts, salt, chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 3 tablespoons meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish. Make more meatballs with remaining mixture, arranging meatballs about 1/2 inch apart in baking dish. Bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes.


Meanwhile, stir together lime juice, water, sugar, remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce and sprinkle with cilantro sprigs.


Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.