Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Big, juicy, tender and tasty meatballs in a rich sweet and sour sauce, this is what this dish is all about. I used the same recipe for the Lumpiang Shanghai. You can get the recipe here. But instead of wrapping the pork mixture, I made meatballs. Fried it until golden brown and set it aside. The second part is making the sweet and sour sauce. And here’s what you will need.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon cornstarch, diluted in 5 teaspoons of water

1 red bell pepper, cut into squares

1 green bell pepper, cut into squares

1 medium-sized onion, chopped

1 large carrot, sliced diagonally

Procedure:

1. Whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, pour this sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

3. Pour in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce becomes thick.

4. Add the sliced carrots. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes.

5. Add in the red and green bell peppers and the onions. Let it simmer until the all veggies are ready.

6. Put in the fried meatballs, and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Jane

Lumpiang Shanghai

As the name implies, it is the Filipino version of Chinese Spring Rolls. A popular dish which is commonly included in a typical Filipino buffet, may it be weddings, birthdays or a fiesta. It can be a cocktail, a side dish, or when paired with rice, pasta or noodles, the main course itself!

No wonder it's one of our all-time favorites. Even my daughter Ashrie fell in love with this simple dish because of its crisp outer shell and chewy, juicy core.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 whole egg
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup onions, minced
1/2 cup carrots grated
1/2 cup prawns, minced (optional)
1/2 cup Chinese celery (flat leaf parsley) finely chopped
2-3 tablespoon soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
spring roll wrappers
cooking oil (for frying)

Procedure:
1. Mix the ingredients in a bowl (except for the cooking oil and wrappers). Season with a little bit of salt and pepper and mix well. You can do a sampling at this point by taking about a teaspoon of the mixture, forming it into a small patty and frying it in oil. Just to test if it needs adjustment in seasoning.
2. Lay a wrapper on a plate and wrap about a teaspoon of the filling. Brush the end of your wrapper with a little bit of water to seal the roll.
3. Deep fry your spring rolls for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Short of spring roll wrappers and you still have the filling mixture? You can pan fry the filling as burger patties or as meatballs. And remember to fry only what you can consume in one serving as it is best served while hot and the wrappers are still crispy.

Cheers,
Jane

Baked Minced Meat Omelette

For my first recipe, I am sharing a classy take on the famous Filipino dish Tortang Giniling. Usually pan-fried and sometimes fried between banana leaves for easy flipping. However, my version does not include the dreaded flipping because it is baked like a pie.

Here are the ingredients:

500 grams minced meat

1 large carrot, diced

1 large potato, diced

1 medium-sized onion, minced

Quarter of medium-sized cabbage

3 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for sautéing

4 eggs, beaten

Cheese for topping (optional)

Parsley flakes for garnish (optional)

  

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. In a skillet, sauté garlic and onion.

3. Add in the carrots and potatoes.

4. When the potatoes are already half-cooked, add the meat. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add the cabbage.

6. Set this aside and let it cool.

7. In a mixing bowl of beaten eggs, pour in this cooled mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are incorporated.

8. Transfer the mixture into a pie baking dish. Top with cheese and bake it for about 30 minutes or after a successful toothpick test.

9. Garnish with parsley flakes.

Serve hot with rice with your favorite condiment. Alternatively, you can eat it as a cheesy meat and vegetable pie.

This can serve 6 to 8 persons.

Cheers!

Jane