Glazed Korean Meatballs

Method5 steps · about 45 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Finely chop the mushroom caps, onion (1/4 medium) and the 2 meatball scallions. Mix them by hand with the ground beef (1/2 pound), ground pork (1/2 pound), egg yolk (1), 1 tbsp meatball soy sauce, minced garlic (2 teaspoons), grated ginger (1 tsp), about 1/4 tsp salt and pepper to taste, until evenly blended.

   Uses 1/2 pound ground beef · 1/2 pound ground pork · 4–5 fresh shiitake or other mushroom caps, finely chopped · 1/4 medium onion (finely chopped) · 2 scallions (finely chopped) · 1 egg yolk · 1 tablespoon soy sauce · 2 teaspoons minced garlic

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Shape the mixture into about 1 1/4-inch balls. Dredge the meatballs in the cornstarch or flour (1/2 cup) to lightly coat.

   Uses Meatball mixture · 1/2 cup cornstarch or flour for dredging

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add half of the meatballs to the pan. Turning as necessary, fry until all sides are golden brown but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. The meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining meatballs, adding the optional extra frying oil only if needed.

   Fry Meatballs · 5 minUses Shaped dredged meatballs · 1 tbsp cooking oil for browning meatballs · Additional cooking oil, only if needed for the second batch

   
4. 4

   Step 4: In a separate pan combine the glaze sugar (1 tablespoon), 3 tbsp glaze soy sauce (or the spicy alternative of 1 tbsp gochujang), rice wine (3 tablespoons) or mirin, 3 tbsp water, corn syrup (2 tablespoons), sliced garlic (2) and sliced ginger (1 inch). Choose soy sauce or the gochujang alternative; do not add both. Boil over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 3–4 minutes.

   Reduce glaze until slightly thickened · 4 minUses 1 tablespoon sugar · 3 tablespoons soy sauce (You can replace with 1 TB gochujang for a little spicy kick) · 3 tablespoons rice wine (or mirin) · 3 tablespoons water · 2 tablespoons corn syrup (oligodang) · 2 plump garlic cloves, thinly sliced · 1 inch-long piece ginger, thinly sliced · 1 tbsp gochujang, only for the source’s spicy alternative to glaze soy sauce

   
5. 5

   Step 5: Add all the partly cooked meatballs to the prepared glaze and simmer, turning to coat, for about 5 minutes until the sauce forms a thick glaze and the meatball centres reach 71°C (160°F). Continue cooking as needed to reach that endpoint. Add optional chopped peanuts or pine nuts and garnish scallion. Serve warm, optionally with prepared vegetables of your choice.

   Simmer in Glaze · 5 minUses Browned partly cooked meatballs · Prepared glaze · chopped peanuts or pine nuts · chopped scallion · Prepared vegetables of choice, optional for serving