These meatballs are so moist and flavorful that I can’t resist eating some with a bowl of rice right after bak- ing. Broccoli in these meatballs isn’t just for added nutrition. It makes the meatballs soft and tender.
Growing up, my grandma took care of me, my brother, and my cousins while our parents worked during the day. She was and still is a very practical woman. She would cook up a month worth of meatballs (동그랑땡) at a time, and our lunch boxes had those meatballs for 30 days straight. I don’t know the exact recipe, but I remember them being delicious for the first few days. Then I would just trade banchan (side dishes) with my friends; thank goodness, they were quite popular. Now, these meatballs became a funny memory we share with my father because he also had his fair share of meatballs while growing up.
I promise myself that I won’t serve the same food for Munchkin several days straight. Having said that, I think meatballs are great to stock up in the freezer; they freeze well, taste good, and are perfect when I want to add some meat to Munchkin’s diet.
Beef Meatballs With Korean Flavors
Soy sauce and honey marinated meatballs with broccoli. Great to stock up in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 12 oz frozen riced broccoli defrosted
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 lb ground beef 85% lean 15% fat
Instructions
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Prepare baking sheet pans. You can either use 1 full sheet pan or 2 half sheet pans. Insert a cooking rack or line the sheet with parchment paper. If using a full sheet pan, position the oven rack in the middle. If using half sheet pans, position racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven. Preheat to 400 F.
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In a bowl, add panko, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and honey. Mix and set aside to let panko soak up the sauce.
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In a separate large bowl, add broccoli, eggs, parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, and ground meat. Add panko mixture to the bowl. Mix until everything is combined using your hand.
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Form the meat mixture into balls a little smaller than the size of a golf ball. Place meatballs on the sheet pan with some space between them.
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Bake for about 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
• Fat content in ground meat will affect the final texture. I prefer 85%/15% for this recipe.
• A cooking wire rack will let the grease drip off the meatballs while baking. However, baking on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan works if you don’t have a cooking rack. You can also line parchment paper under the cooking rack for easy clean-up.
