This delicious Asian Pork Meatballs recipe makes it so easy to whip up a quick weekday dinner. The 30 minutes stovetop meatballs are so versatile, you can pan-fry them, cook them in soup, or add them to a tomato pasta sauce!

Dipping a Chinese meatball into a bowl of spicy mayo, — You can pan-fry the meatballs or cook them in soup!

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🥘 Ingredients
📖 Variations
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
🥡 How to Store
🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
Asian Pork Meatballs
💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

For these Chinese meatballs, you will need:

Ground pork: Both fresh and frozen mince pork work for this recipe. Just thaw the frozen meat in the fridge overnight first. Ideally, use meat with 20% fat for the best texture. I don't recommend low-fat meat as that'll result in dry meatballs. (If you're grinding your own pork, don't use pork loin!)
Water chestnuts: I got mine from a can (available at the Asian supermarket) then minced them. You can omit them but they give the meatballs the characteristic crunch of Chinese meatballs.
Dried shiitake mushrooms: Soaked for 1-2 hours till soft, then remove the stem (which can be added to stews and soups along with the mushroom soaking water.) Mince the cap of the mushroom for the meatballs. Dried shiitake mushrooms are expensive, so I've omitted them when on a budget and the meatballs still tasted great!
Onion: peeled and minced. Any color onion will do, but red onions will be the sweetest. You can also substitute with shallots.

For the seasoning:

Shaoxing wine: alternatively, use dry sherry or 1 of these Chinese wine substitutes
Light soy sauce: also known as regular soy sauce, this is not the same as dark soy sauce or sweet soy! If you're on a GF diet, use coconut aminos or tamari sauce.
Cornstarch: I've also made the porkballs with all purpose flour and no one could tell the difference (Corn starch is also known as corn flour in Asia but in the US, they're 2 different things- you want cornstarch, the white fine powder.)
White sugar: I don't recommend using maple syrup or honey as a replacement if you want authentic Asian flavor.
Salt: I prefer to use dried shrimps, which add umami, as a substitute for the salt if I have them on hand. However, not everyone keeps dried shrimps in their fridge so I've also tested and provided the measurements for salt. (Do not add the shrimps and salt simultaneously as the meatballs may be too salty because dried shrimp already contain salt. To check that the meat is well-salted enough, pinch off a piece and fry it till cooked then taste test.)
White pepper: this is optional. Black pepper is NOT a substitute for white pepper as they taste different!

Note: The meatballs are so tasty, they can be eaten on their own with some veggies in oyster sauce & a bowl of white rice so I've not listed any sauce ingredients. However, like luncheon meat fries, you can also dip them in Gochujang Aioli, Sambal Aioli or Kimchi Mayo.

📖 Variations

Other meat: you may have realised by now that Chinese people love their pork! I'll also be testing ground turkey, ground chicken and ground beef with this recipe and let you know what tweaks need to be made to the seasoning. (I would probably use sesame seeds, sesame oil, fresh ginger and green onions for the chicken version!)

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

Mixing ground pork and other ingredients by hand.

In a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients in 1 direction till the meat has broken down and become sticky.

Note: I find using my hands- you can wear gloves- helps me work more efficiently.

Rolling a ball of pork in between 2 hands.

2a. Divide the meat mixture into 20 balls of approximately the same size. (No need to be obsessive but you can use a tablespoon to help you get more equal sizes.)

2b. Roll each porkball in between your hands till they've formed a nice round ball.

3. You can pan-fry the Asian meatballs over medium heat. Leave them untouched till the bottoms have turned brown- about 2 to 3 minutes- turn them and pan-fry to the other side.

Note: make sure there's space in between each ball in the frying pan. You'll probably need to cook in batches.

To check they're cooked, the internal temperature should be 145 degrees f. (Or cut the meatballs to make sure the inside is thoroughly cooked.)

Eat with rice or wrap in lettuce cups and enjoy!

2 types of Chinese meatballs in a bowl of soup.

4. Alternatively, next time, for more juicy meatballs, you can boil them in chicken stock and serve with noodles for a main dish. (Both uncooked or pan-fried meatballs can be cooked in the broth.)

Dip it in sambal mayo, stuff it into Gua Bao Buns, use to substitute SPAM in Hong Kong Macaroni soup or simmer in Chinese soup or tomato sauce!

I also like to simmer the Chinese pork meatballs in a carrot and tomato sauce as it's a great way to increase one's veggie intake. You get very tender meatballs this way!

Note: you can also bake the meatballs or cook them in an air fryer. I'll update once I've worked out the ideal temperatures.

🥡 How to Store

The uncooked meatballs can be frozen or kept in the fridge for 1-2 days before cooking (as long as it's not past the expiry date of the meat AND the meat was not sitting out at room temperature for a long time!) Just place them on parchment paper on a tray and cover with cling film or foil, making sure there's space in between each ball.

Cooked meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

To re-heat, I like to steam them, but you can also cook them again in soup or canned peeled plum tomatoes for an Asian-inspired pork meatballs pasta sauce. This will help to ensure the reheated meatballs are still tender.

Asian meatballs in a chunky tomato sauce with spring onions.

🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes

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