Meatballs with Japanese Ketchup Sauce
Meatball Recipe with Japanese Ketchup Sauce:
Growing up in Japan, I was accustomed to a unique but beloved flavor combination - ketchup sauce.
It's made with ketchup, rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce and makes it starchy. It's similar to sweet and sour sauce but has a sweeter umami from the ketchup.
Today, I'm happy to share a recipe that combines the comforting flavors of the ketchup sauce with meatballs!
RECIPE
Servings: 4-5
Time: 30 min
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 egg
3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
[ Ketchup Sauce ]
3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup water
1 tbsp potato starch
Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Stir until well mixed. In another bowl, combine the water and potato starch, stirring until the starch is fully dissolved. Set both bowls aside.
Heat a splash of cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until softened and translucent. Transfer the sautéed onion to a large mixing bowl.
To the bowl with the sautéed onion, add the ground pork, egg, panko breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together until well combined.
Take portions of the meat mixture and roll them into golf ball-sized meatballs.
In a heated pan, place the meatballs and cook them over medium heat, turning occasionally, until they are browned on all sides and cooked through. Then removed them from the pan.
Pour the prepared ketchup sauce and starch water mixture in the same pan, gently stir everything together. Return the meatballs, allowing the sauce to thicken and coat the meatballs evenly.
Recipes Used the Japanese Ketchup Sauce:
Another recipe I would think with the Japanese Ketchup sauce is “Porktchup”. As its name suggests, it’s a combination of two key elements - pork and ketchup. Thinly sliced pork is tenderized and then sautéed, and add the luscious ketchup sauce that envelops the pork in a symphony of flavors. It is a simple yet satisfying dish that embodies the essence of comfort food.
My family also used to make fried fish with this kind of ketchup sauce and it was my favorite.
Be creative and try your favorite protein to combine with this sauce!
