In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the meatballs : ground beef, onion, scallions, eggs, soy sauce, bread crumbs, flour, salt, pepper and sesame oil. Blend well. Shape the ground beef mixture into 2-inch sized meatballs. Arrange on a flat tray or container. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour to firm up.
You can choose from these 2 ways to cook the meatballs or ‘bola-bola’. 1) To bake: Place meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake meatballs at a preheated oven of 350 F degrees for 30 minutes. When cooked, set aside.
Or method 2) To pan fry : in a large skillet over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil. When oil is hot enough in about 3 minutes, add the meatballs, leaving a space of about 2 inches apart. Pan fry meatballs for about 25 to 28 minutes till well done. When cooked, drain meatballs on parchment paper to remove grease. Set aside.
When serving the meatballs, plate on a large platter. Pour the sweet sour sauce with the vegetables on top. Serve with boiled jasmine rice.
To make sweet sour sauce: separately in a small sauce pan, over medium heat, saute the garlic, onions, ginger, tomatoes and bell peppers till soft for about 2 minutes. Remove the sautéed vegetables from the pan and set aside.
To the same sauce pan, add the catsup and fry for about 1 to 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the vinegar, granulated sugar, pineapple juice and water. Blend well. Return the sautéed vegetables to this mixture. Season with salt and black pepper powder. Cover and continue cooking for a minute.
Separately, in a small bowl, dilute the cornstarch in water and blend well till there are no more lumps. Add this cornstarch mixture to the sauce pan with the vegetables and vinegar mix. Bring to a boil in about 2 minutes. Lower heat to a slow simmer. The mixture will thicken by this time. Add the pineapple chunks if desired.
Cook’s comments: if desired, instead of an all-beef meatball mixture, combine ground pork and ground beef. Cook according to directions above.
Hello, Friends! Do not PLAGIARIZE, LIFT OR SCRAPE my recipes and photos. All the images and content here are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to use my photos or content on your website, videos, TV programs, cookbooks, books, media content, restaurant menus without my permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write it in your own words and simply link back to this blog to give proper attribution. It’s the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]