Down East Asia

Asian Pork Balls with an orange, Sriracha chile, hoisin sauce and sesame oil glaze

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I have a passion for cooking Asian cuisine.  I have spent the better half of the last decade preparing Asian dishes at home and for at least the first five years, many of my attempts were complete failures.  I was determined that I was going to learn this culinary art form and I was going to do it amazingly well.  Once I figured out the basic ingredients and understood the all important concept of layering of flavors, I worked tirelessly at getting my technique and timing down.  I failed time and time again but I continued to experiment and I am pleased to say that I have become somewhat proficient in cooking this cuisine that I love so much. I am so excited to be able to share some of my favorite Asian recipes with you in this segment of my blog that I have decided to call Down East Asia.

This is one of my favorite party appetizers.  They are fun little bite size treats packed full of flavor.  As a meal, you could serve these with some fried rice or even accompanied by an egg drop or hot and sour soup; all of which I promise to post recipes for at a later time.

Here are the ingredients for the pork balls

I have a pound of ground pork, 2 cups of thinly sliced cabbage, about 4 or 5 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, 2 large eggs, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, low sodium soy sauce, sesame seed oil, sugar, sea salt, white pepper, Chinese five spice and corn starch.  You can also add 3 to 4 scallions or spring onions if you like them.  I unfortunately hate anything in the onion family so I do not include them in any of my dishes.

To start preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In  a medium size sauce pan, sauté the cabbage and mushrooms in a tablespoon of peanut or olive oil.  Season the cabbage and mushrooms with about a half teaspoon of sea salt and cook until the mushrooms have softened and the cabbage starts to become translucent.  Remove from the pan, spread the mixture out on a plate and set aside to cool.

While the cabbage and mushrooms are cooling, you can add all the other ingredients to the ground pork.  First start by adding 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper (black pepper works just fine as well), add one whole egg and just the egg white of the 2nd large egg, two cloves of garlic minced or grated, 1 inch piece of ginger grated, 1 and a half tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, a half table spoon of sesame seed oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and a couple dashes of Chinese five spice. Before mixing, add the cabbage and mushrooms and mix thoroughly with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated.

To form the balls, take enough of the pork mixture to fit in the palm of your hand and roll into bite size portions. Place the balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  You should have enough of the pork mixture to make 20 to 24 pork balls depending on how small you make them.

When you are done rolling the balls you can prepare the glaze.

Here are the ingredients for the glaze

In a small bowl add the juice of a whole fresh squeezed orange, a quarter cup of hoisin sauce (I have also used oyster sauce for a more savory glaze), 1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar, a half tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of Sriracha chile sauce, a teaspoon of sesame see oil, and a tablespoon of sesame seeds. Set half of the glaze aside for dipping later and use the other half to brush over the pork balls prior to baking.  Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 24 minutes depending on the size.  

To serve, break apart the leaves of a large head of Boston lettuce and place a pork ball in the middle of each leaf.  Drizzle some of the reserved glaze and sprinkle with additional sesame seeds.  Before eating, wrap the lettuce leaf around the pork ball like a tortilla and dip into the remainder of the glaze.  All that is left to do is let your taste buds take in all of the incredible layers of flavors and textures packed inside this little ball of sweet, salty, spicy, and tangy goodness!

I promise you this recipe is sure to be a big hit at any gathering you host or attend.  I hope you enjoy them as much as my family, friends and I have!