Pan-Fried Meatballs in a Mold Pan
I’ve had these two mold pans for a long time, and previously only used them for baking cakes—this was my first time making meatballs in them, and the result turned out great. I added a small amount of vegetable oil to the pan bottom, which kept sticking to a minimum. I’ve seen Taiwanese street food vendors serve freshly grilled meatballs straight off the grill, so you can eat these as a casual snack, or serve them as a proper dish. If you’d like, you can make a starch slurry glaze to drizzle over the finished meatballs for a sweet and sour meatball-style finish. I prefer simple, bright flavors, so I skipped the extra glaze, and the photo shows the meatballs straight out of the pan—hope that makes sense.
Ingredients
ground pork
450g
canned water chestnuts
150g net weight
shallots
4
ginger
25g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients: 450g ground pork, 150g net weight canned water chestnuts, 4 shallots, and 25g ginger.
2
Step 2
Finely chop the water chestnuts, shallots, and ginger, and add them to the bowl with the ground pork. Then add 1/4 tsp fine salt, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp brandy, and 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly by hand in a clockwise direction, occasionally tossing the meat mixture.
3
Step 3
Brush a layer of vegetable oil in the mold pan.
4
Step 4
Roll the meat into balls and place them into the holes of the mold pan.
5
Step 5
The pan has seven holes; place meatballs in six of them, leaving one hole free to roll the meatballs and turn them over.
6
Step 6
Occasionally roll the meatballs so both sides cook to a deep golden brown. Insert a meat thermometer into the meatballs—once the temperature exceeds 165°F, the inside is fully cooked and they're done.
