Glazed Korean-Style Meatballs

 If you follow this blog, you know I’m obsessed with football, and not only the games but also the food aspect.
I love having friends coming over to watch the game on Sunday and serve up some goodness.
But at the same time I don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen getting ready for the kick-off.
Enters these Glazed Korean-Style Meatballs.
This is a recipe that always scores major points and though the ingredient list is long, the prep is minimal and the cooking is (mostly) done by an oven.
Which means I’m always ready for the coin toss and I never miss a moment of the action!

These sweet and spicy meatballs are just perfect: Filled with tons of great flavor and have a unique twist to them thanks to the gochujang glaze.
You can adjust the spiciness in the glaze by scaling down on the chili paste. There’s also plenty of garlic and ginger, which makes me very happy.

Perfect for a party but easy and quick enough to consider for midweek dinner, what makes these meatballs stand out, is the glaze which is where the sweet and spicy part comes in. It’s such a simple glaze, only 6 ingredients, but totally makes these meatballs go from good to awesome.
These meatballs are a cinch to make and by baking them you save yourself the hassle of frying them, making a mess and cleaning up your stovetop and more dishes and so on.
Did I mention how delicious they are?
I probably did. Ha!

Glazed Korean-Style Meatballs                                                                                                          Print this recipe!
Adapted from Koreatown

Ingredients
Serves 4

Meatballs

1 lb / 453 gr ground beef
1 ½ tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil (or any vegetable oil)
1 small Bosc pear, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small onion, quartered
½ tablespoon freshly grated ginger
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used organic wheat-free soy sauce)
2 garlic cloves
1 large egg, lightly beaten
⅓ cup breadcrumbs (I used Aleia's Gluten Free Panko Crumbs)

Glaze

¼ cup gochujang (spicy Korean chili paste)
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons sugar (I used coconut sugar)
2 tablespoons rice wine (if you can’t find it use pale sherry or dry white wine)
1 tablespoon sesame oil (or any vegetable oil)
½ tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) and place a rack in the middle. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor combine honey, black pepper, oil, pear, onion, ginger, soy sauce, and garlic. Pulse until a smooth paste forms.
Transfer to a large bowl, add beef, and mix to combine.
Add egg and breadcrumbs and mix well. If the mixture looks too wet, add more breadcrumbs until the mixture is dry enough to stick together and roll into balls.
With dampened hands form into 1 ½-inch balls and arrange on the baking sheet with a bit of space between them.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
When meatballs are done, transfer them to a plate and scrape the pan juices into a large skillet.
Add all sauce ingredients and cook on medium-high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce reduces and starts to thicken.
Add meatballs and mix gently to coat with sauce.
Serve sprinkled with chopped scallions and parsley over udon noodles, zoodles or linguine.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 258 calories, 15 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbs, and 17 grams of protein.