Mmmm... my mom's meatballs

Mom's Meatballs

1 lb of ground pork
1 egg
sesame oil
soy sauce
rice wine (I've substituted vodka in a pinch)
scallions, finely chopped
ginger, grated (I use a rasp)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch for the meat + 1 tsp for the cornstarch slurry
water
cooking oil (not olive)

As you can see, there are a lot of ingredients in common with the dumpling filling recipe. In fact, you can season 3 lbs of pork and split off 1 lb to make meatballs to save some work. The difference between the two recipes: NO shrimp or napa cabbage in the meatballs; NO cornstarch in the dumpling filling. They have all the other ingredients in common.

Once you've marinated the meat for a while with the seasonings, add 1 tbsp of cornstarch and enough water so that the meat mixture is almost soupy, but still firm enough to hold a shape. Start with ¼ cup of water, then add more if it's still dry-looking.

To make the meatballs: First, heat a skillet with about half an inch of cooking oil on medium heat. (I like canola but you can use something else. Just don't use olive oil - the smoking point is too low.)

Make some cornstarch slurry - just 1 tsp of cornstarch dissolved in 3-4 tbsp of water. Dip a metal soup spoon in the slurry, then scoop out a spoonful of the meat mixture. Using the spoon and the palm of your opposite hand, form a nice smooth meatball. No harm if it's not perfectly spherical - in fact, if you've got the texture right, it'll flatten out slightly when you put it in the pan.

Gently place the meatballs in the hot oil. Fry until brown on one side, then carefully turn over and repeat on the other side. This step is just for developing some flavor from the browning - don't expect to cook the meatball through. When browned, remove to a cookie sheet to cool.

At this point, you can put the meatballs in plastic containers and freeze them. I drizzle in a little of the oil they cooked in, along with any browned bits - it gives extra flavor to whatever dish you use the meatballs in. They'll keep about six months in the deep freeze.

Otherwise, you can go ahead and finish cooking them in a number of recipes. In my family, we usually have them in a soup made of chicken stock, napa cabbage, tofu and shiitake mushrooms. You can throw together a makeshift pho with wide rice noodles, chicken stock and cilantro. These meatballs will also work in a marinara sauce, over spaghetti. They're generally a good resource to have on hand.

Alternative preparation: We do a few "crunchies" at the end, as a sort of cook's treat. These are about a third the size of the regular meatballs, only about 1 tbsp each. Fry them until they're very brown and crisp on the outside, and cooked all the way through.