Asian Pork Meatballs (No Breadcrumbs)

This delicious Asian Pork Meatballs recipe makes it so easy to whip up a quick weekday dinner. The meatballs are so versatile, you can pan-fry them, cook them in soup, or add them to a tomato pasta sauce! They're also flavorful enough that you don't have to faff about with the sauce, so they're on the table more quickly!

Jump to:

• ⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🥡 How to Store
• 🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
• Asian Pork Meatballs
• 💬 Comments

⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star

1. Easy and delicious: This Asian Pork Meatball Recipe is pretty much a mix, roll and fry (or boil) recipe. Full of bold Asian flavors, it's perfect with a bowl of white rice of cauliflower rice, if you're feeling healthy!
2. Fast: with a cooking time of 30 minutes, it's the ideal recipe for a tasty but quick weeknight dinner!
3. And it goes with almost anything! 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!

🥘 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

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.

🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes

Enjoyed this easy Asian ground pork Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you these easy pork meatballs helped make your busy weeknights better, please consider supporting it by buying me a bottle of soy sauce! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!

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