Asian-spiced Chicken Meatball Stir Fry

Asian-spiced Chicken Meatball Stir Fry. Rather than ordering out, try my colorful Asian-spiced Chicken Meatball Stir Fry. It’s far healthier than take out food, and tastier too. Ground chicken, minced onion, salt and Asian Five Spice powder flavor the meatballs. Red bell pepper, carrots, celery, onions, broccoli, snow peas, cashews, and mini cucumbers add to this healthy dish. Freshly squeezed orange juice, soy sauce, honey, chicken broth, salt, white pepper and cornstarch make the sauce. Served over basmati rice and topped with thinly sliced green scallions, it’s a simple and tasty weeknight meal.

To start, form some meatballs from a mixture of ground chicken, minced onion, Asian five spice powder and salt. In a skillet, saute the meatballs in some vegetable oil until they are browned on the outside and cooked through. Set aside and keep warm.

Cook some white basmati rice according to the package directions while you are making the rest of the recipe. When the rice has cooked, set it aside with the lid still on the pan.

Stir together some freshly-squeezed orange juice, soy sauce, honey, chicken broth, salt and white pepper to make the Orange Soy sauce. You will need some cornstarch to thicken the sauce so have that ready in a small bowl. Add a tablespoon of Orange Soy sauce to the cornstarch and mix well with a spoon.

Saute the onion, carrot, and celery in oil until the vegetables are translucent. Add the red bell pepper. Stir around until the red bell pepper is cooked but still crisp. Add the Asian-spiced chicken meatballs and warm through. Add the sauce to the meatball veggie mixture and cook a minute or so until it starts to thicken. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir some more. Then add some snow peas, broccoli florets, mini-cucumber slices, and cashews. When the sauce has thickened, use a fork to fluff the rice. Plate the rice and then top with the chicken meatball and vegetable mixture. Garnish with some thinly sliced scallions and serve!

See my Eating Healthier posting for more ideas on how to eat healthier this year!

Enjoy!

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From the kitchen of A Food Lover’s Delight….

Asian-Spiced Chicken Meatball Stir Fry

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

2 lb ground chicken (or grind your own)
1/4 c minced sweet onion
1 t Asian five spice powder
1/2 t salt
2 T vegetable oil

For the Orange Soy sauce:

1 c freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T honey
1 c chicken broth/stock
1/4 t salt
Dash of ground white pepper
2 t cornstarch for thickening

For the stir fry:

2 T vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved, then sliced longwise into 1/4 inch strips
2 carrots, cut into coins
1 rib celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips
20 pre-cooked chicken meatballs (ingredients above)
Orange Soy sauce (ingredients above)
2 c snow peas
2 c broccoli florets
2 mini cucumbers, skin left on, sliced into thin rounds
1 c cashews

2 c cooked white basmati rice (cook according to the package directions)
3 scallions, tops and bottoms, sliced longwise into thin strips, about 4 inches long by 1/8 inch wide, for garnish

Method:

1. Start the rice in a separate pan according to the package directions. Continue with the rest of the recipe and when the rice has cooked, set it aside with the lid still on the pan. Keep warm.
2. To make 20 one-inch Asian meatballs, combine the ground chicken, minced onion, Asian five spice powder, and salt in a large bowl. Form the meatballs into 20 one inch balls. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a Chef’s pan. Saute the meatballs in batches until they are browned on all sides and cooked through. Remove the meatballs as they are cooked to a foil-covered platter to keep warm.
3. In a non-metallic bowl, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, honey, chicken broth/stock, salt and pepper and set aside. Put the cornstarch in a tiny bowl and combine well with a tablespoon of the orange soy mixture. Set aside.
4. In a Chef’s pan or wok, warm 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Saute the onions, carrots and celery until the vegetables are translucent. Add the red bell pepper and saute a minute more. Add the chicken meatballs and warm through, stirring constantly.
5. Add the Orange Soy sauce to the vegetables. Cook on medium heat and stir constantly so the sauce does not burn. Add the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce and stir.
6. When the sauce has thickened, add the snow peas, broccoli, mini-cucumber slices, and cashews. Stir until the snow peas and broccoli have cooked but are still slightly crisp, being careful not to burn the sauce.
7. Fluff the rice with a fork. Divide and plate the rice on your four serving plates.
8. Top the rice on each plate with a quarter of the Asian chicken stir fry mixture.
9. Garnish with the scallions and serve!

Serves 4 as a main course.

Variations: Use ground pork or turkey instead of ground chicken in the meatballs. Use other vegetables such as cabbage, bok choy, Shiitake mushrooms, etc. Add some minced garlic if you like.

Order your Asian Five Spice Powder at Amazon.com:

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