STICKY PORK MEATBALLS
Who can resist a tasty meatball?! These sticky pork meatballs are simmered in a sweet and savoury sauce, then served on brown rice with crunchy slaw. Ready in just 30 minutes!
We use a few shortcuts to whip up this quick and easy meal. The first hack – pre-made meatballs (or sausages squeezed out of their casings and shaped into meatballs!).
The second is microwave pouches of rice. I’m such a big fan of this time-saver, especially for brown rice (I find the white rice isn’t as good when compared to the cooked from dry option – anyone else agree?).
Lastly, pre-chopped slaw. There are so many options available now, and if you don’t like the dressing (or are gluten-free), you can easily add your own. I chose a colourful kale slaw with maple-flavoured dressing, but sesame or miso-style dressings would work well too. Try to avoid traditional creamy coleslaws; they don’t go so well with this meal.
After all those shortcuts, we can afford the time to make our own sauce for the meatballs! Orange juice, hoisin sauce and maple syrup/honey add plenty of flavour.
Finish off the meal with some toasted seeds for a little extra crunch. Yum!
STICKY PORK MEATBALLS
These sticky pork meatballs are simmered in a sweet and savoury sauce, then served on brown rice with colourful slaw. Ready in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients
MEATBALLS
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 1 Tbsp water
- 3/4 cup orange juice (190ml)
- 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 400-500 g pork meatballs or good quality pork sausages (1lb)
- 3 Tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2 tsp olive oil
TO SERVE
- 2 x 250 g microwave pouches brown rice (2 x 8.8oz)
- 400 g (approx.) pre-packaged slaw with dressing (14oz)
Instructions
COOK MEATBALLS
Place cornflour and water in a medium jug or bowl. Stir to dissolve cornflour. Add orange juice, hoisin sauce, honey/maple syrup, vinegar and garlic. Whisk until well combined.
If using sausages, squeeze them out of their casings and roll into meatballs.
Heat a large frying pan on medium-high. Toast seeds until golden (2-3 minutes). Remove from pan into a bowl.
Add oil to pan and fry meatballs until browned all over. Pour in sauce, reduce heat to medium, place a lid on and simmer for 5 minutes, until sauce has thickened a little and meatballs are cooked through. If sauce thickens too much, add a little water; if not thick enough, simmer with the lid off for a minute!
PREPARE SERVING INGREDIENTS
While meatballs simmer, cook rice according to instructions on packet. Toss slaw together with dressing.
SERVE
Divide rice between individual serving plates or bowls. Top with meatballs and sauce. Serve with slaw on the side. Sprinkle meatballs and slaw with toasted seeds.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: A Gewürztraminer.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Choose gluten-free cornflour. You can swap the hoisin sauce for gluten-free teriyaki sauce or gluten-free oyster sauce (you may find you need a little less honey/maple syrup with the teriyaki sauce, and a little more with the oyster sauce). Make sure meatballs/sausages are gluten-free. Choose a slaw with gluten-free dressing, or select an option without dressing and add your own.
INGREDIENT SWAPS / NOTES: I used a colourful kale slaw with maple dressing. Choose one with a sesame, maple or miso-style dressing, rather than traditional creamy coleslaw - it will go better with the meatballs.
STORING AND REHEATING: Rice and meatballs can be refrigerated together and reheated in the microwave. Refrigerate slaw separately and add to meal with seeds just before serving.
