Few things are more international than a sumptuous meatball. Of different meats, fish, shellfish, vegetables, tofu, carbohydrates, legumes… the representation meatball it is infinite, both in its possible ingredients and in its cooking techniques and ways of eating them. Although we usually see them fried or cooked in sauces, we can make them baked, steamed and even cooked in water or broth. These last two techniques are better known in Asia, and it doesn’t hurt to incorporate them into our kitchen from time to time. The texture becomes completely tender, elastic and smooth, making it perfect for thicker, fattier sauces.
Preparing this recipe -or triple recipe- is really easy if we do it in parts. We will prepare the dough for the meatballs with fish -I used whiting, which I found on sale-, prawns and a pinch of pork to add a certain percentage of fat. Chopping it all together and adding starch and coconut milk will help to achieve the elastic texture we are looking for. We will accompany them with a rich sauce made from peanut butter, sesame and more coconut, with a pinch of lemon and lime to give it a citrus point that cuts the fat. To top it off, an oil flavored with paprika and garlic will do the trick. With this last element you can be as creative as you want: add spices, aromatic herbs and whatever you want. In fact, my recommendation would be to make a Sichuan Pepper Chili Oil, but let’s keep the recipe open, simple and accessible to everyone.
I have previously prepared these meatballs without fish, with other types of fats such as pate (slightly frozen so that it remains in pieces when cooking), with only pork meat and in many other ways. The important thing to achieve the desired texture is the grinding step. If you don’t have a food processor, chop the ingredients well with a knife and use your hand to integrate everything into the same mass, moving it over and over again in the same direction. It is the most traditional method, but the mincer advances us a few steps.
Difficulty
Realize how easy they are to prepare.
Ingredients
For the peanut and coconut sauce
- 325ml coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon toasted tahini or toasted sesame paste
- 1 and a half teaspoons of Dijon mustard
- 1 and a half tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of white sugar
- 1 level teaspoon of fine salt
For 14 meatballs
- 200 g of clean white fish (hake, whiting, cod, etc.)
- 12 raw prawns
- 150 g minced pork
- 3 garlic cloves
- half fresh onion
- 15 coriander stems
- 1 egg
- 75ml coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons corn starch, tapioca or potato starch
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons of salt
At your service
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sweet or hot paprika
- 4 garlic cloves crushed and minced
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- A pinch of ground black pepper
Preparation
Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, tahini, mustard, sugar and salt to a pan. Stir while heating so that they are fully integrated.
Continue cooking and stirring frequently to reduce and thicken. This process takes about 10 minutes.
With the heat off, add the lemon or lime juice and stir. Reserve to serve over the meatballs.
Using a food processor, grind the fish, prawns, pork, garlic, onion and coriander until they form a paste. Add the egg, starch and salt and blend again so that everything is integrated. It should be like a paste.
Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Shape the minced dough into a round shape and add the meatballs to the water. Once they start to float, cook five more minutes and remove.
To serve, crush and mince the garlic cloves and add them to a heat resistant bowl. Add the paprika, sesame and mix.
Heat the olive oil until smoking, and add directly to the bowl with the garlic and paprika. Stir well.
Serve the meatballs with the peanut and coconut sauce and the infused oil on top. It can also be topped with more sesame seeds, coriander leaves and black pepper.
If you make this recipe, share the result on your social networks with the hashtag #RecipesComidista. And if it goes wrong, complain to the Defender of the Cook by sending an email to [email protected]
#Seafood #meatballs #peanut #coconut #sauce
