Lychee Meatballs
A traditional Zhejiang specialty: lean pork is scored in a crosshatch pattern, deep-fried into ball shapes, then coated with a tomato-based sweet-and-sour sauce. The result is crisp on the outside, tender within, with a balanced sweet-and-sour flavor.
Ingredients
Pure lean meat (sliced into 0.3 cm thick large pieces)
300g
Syrup pineapple (cut into small dice)
100g
Shiitake mushroom strips
A pinch
Dry starch (for rolling and coating)
As needed
Tomato ketchup
A pinch
Sugar
A pinch
Cooking wine (for marinating)
A pinch
Salt
A pinch
Rice vinegar
A pinch
Water starch (for thickening)
As needed
Vegetable oil (for frying in 60% hot oil)
500g (uses 100g)
Instructions
1
Cutting and Marinating
Slice the lean meat into 0.3 cm thick large pieces. On one side of each piece, make deep crisscross scale-like cuts with a knife, then cut into 3 cm diamond-shaped pieces. Then marinate with cooking wine and salt.
2
Frying the Meatballs
Roll the cut meat pieces in dry starch to coat them with a layer of powder, especially making sure the side with knife cuts is evenly covered with dry starch. Fry in oil heated to 60% hot until they curl into ball shapes, making the outside crispy and the inside cooked through. Remove and drain the oil.
3
Sauce Preparation and Stir-Frying
Leave a small amount of oil in the original pan. Add tomato ketchup, shiitake mushroom strips, sugar, salt, vinegar, and water to make a ketchup sweet and sour sauce. Then add the pineapple diced into small pieces to the sauce, bring to a boil, thicken with water starch to make the sauce viscous, then add the meatballs and stir-fry evenly. Serve.
