TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes
SERVES: 4
Protein
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg
Pantry
1/2 tbsp sriracha
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 cups pineapple juice
4 tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp baking soda
Produce
1 pineapple
1 red onion
2 tbsp ginger
1/4 cup green onion
3.5 tbsp soya sauce
pre-recipe prep
Prep and start rice
Preheat oven to 400
Mince 2 tbsp ginger, dice 1/4 cup green onions
Dice your pineapple entire pineapple into small bite small pieces
Thinly slice your red onion (1/2 cm thick)
Char the pineapple. Place pineapple in a single layer on a large sheet pan and place onions on top, overlapping the pineapple is fine. Place sheet pan in oven for 35 minutes. Start checking in around the 15 minute mark - you want your onions somewhat charred and your pineapple starting to caramelize on one side. You'll add your meatballs at the ~25 minute for the last 10 minutes but feel free to remove any onions or pineapple beforehand that are getting too dark.
Start your sauce. In a medium sauce pan, add 2 cups pineapple juice, 1 tbsp ginger, 1tbsp sugar, 1 1/2 tbsp soya sauce and 1/2 tbsp sriracha and a pinch of salt. Cook on medium for about 15 minutes until sauce has reduced by half. At the 15 minute mark, mix 1/2 tbsp cornstarch with a splash of water until dissolved and add it to the sauce. Keep cooking sauce down until it reaches a glazey consistency (thick enough to stick to the back of the spoon) about 5 minutes.
Make your meatballs. In a medium mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp ginger, 2 tbsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp avocado oil, 1 egg, 1/4 cup diced green onion and mix. Add in 1 lb of ground chicken, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, a large pinch of salt, and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Mix gently with 2 forks until just combined, almost like your pulling apart pulled pork. This helps keep the meatballs airy.
Cook your meatballs. In a large frying pan on medium high heat, add about 3 tbsp avocado oil (or enough to coat the bottom of the pan). Form small balls (I use a 2 tbsp ice cream scoop) and add to hot pan. The goal here is to just brown the outside, so move quickly and keep turning the meatballs until they are browned on all sides (but not cooked through). Once browned, remove from heat and set aside.
Finish things up. Once your pineapple and onions are almost done (25 minutes), add your meatballs to the sheet pan and cook for another 10 minutes or until inside of meatballs reach an internal temp of 165 F or 71C.
Add rice to a bowl, top with meatballs pineapple and onions, and cover with sauce. Sprinkle with more green onions and DIG IN.
Questions? Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and don’t forget to let me know if you make it!