Thai Turkey Meatballs
Ok, so there's nothing really authentically thai about this recipe, as in, I'm pretty sure I've never seen them on the menu in a thai restaurant. BUT the flavours are there, in a big way. These are extremely tasty and take literally no time to make. I brought these together for a weeknight dinner in about 30 mins - which included the time it takes to make the punchy, herby, oh so good dressing you can serve with them.
{ I apologize for my images in this post! I find it really hard to make meat pretty. I'll work on it, I promise. }
Trust me - you'll want to use this dressing on a plethora of salads and "bowl dinners". It's quite thin, but soaks in nicely to the rice. I'd definitely use this on a shredded salad, or a thai beef salad.
I used my cast iron so I could start on the stove top and finish in the oven, but if you don't have one, or would prefer to just fry them - go for it! Turkey is lean and sticky so make sure to oil the pan properly, and don't fuss with these meatballs or they will fall apart. Wait until they are nice and browned on 1 side before flipping them, if they don't turn with a little shake from the tongs, leave them another minute and try again.
Ground turkey comes in a variety of portion sizes. I had a small pack and it made about 12 meatballs. Dinner for 2 and a lunch. If you get a bigger pack though - no biggie, just add some more green onions, fish sauce and salt.
INGREDIENTS:
*serves 2/3
1 pack ground turkey (+/- .5 lbs)
1-2 cloves garlic
2 green onions, chopped
2" knob of ginger, grated
1/2 zucchini, grated, squeeze all the juices out!
1/2 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes (more if you fancy)
1 lime, zest of
dash fish sauce
salt to taste
DRESSING:
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 punch cilantro
1 thai red or green chili
1" knob of ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 small shallot
1 tbs sesame oil
1 lime, juice of
For the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix gently, you don't want to overwork the meat. Shape in to small balls about 1.5" round - this will be a bit sticky and mess, just trust me, they'll work. Heat up a good glug of olive oil in a cast iron (or frying) pan. Make sure the oil is hot. Add your meatballs to the pan, browning them on one side for about 3 minutes, then flip, brown for 2 more minutes. Place them in your oven for about 15 minutes, until cooked through.
While the meatballs are in the oven - combine all dressing ingredients into your blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes - so all ingredients are combined and there are no lumps.
Serve as an appetizer, on top of a salad, over rice ~ enjoy!!
