Tasty Tuesday: Thai Turkey Meatballs in a Red Curry Peanut Sauce

Meatballs are one of my favorite things, but I don't make them as often as I'd like. They're not as time consuming as some dishes, but they're also not something I generally feel like making after a long day at work or a busy weekend day running errands.

When I do make meatballs, I stick with the classic Italian variety a lot of the time. I mean, spaghetti and meatballs is total comfort food. However, I also really like to switch it up and experiment with different flavors. (And as I was writing that I realized that I've never posted a recipe for classic Italian meatballs, nor have I even posted any meatball recipes using anything other than turkey. I guess I'll have to change that at some point!)

Today's meatballs once again fall under the turkey category. And, as you probably guessed from what was said above (and the title of this post, obviously!), they're not classic Italian meatballs.

It's no secret that we love curry in our house. I've only posted a couple of curry recipes in the past (including the ridiculously simple Green Curry Chicken that is Eric's absolute favorite meal), but we make it quite a bit. We also get Thai and Indian food out a lot, and often order different types of curry at those restaurants.

Anyway, the point is that we love curry ... So obviously I'm always very open to trying new curry recipes at home.

I'll admit, though, that I really wasn't expecting to be blown away by this recipe. I thought it would be pretty good, but sometimes peanut sauces are too sweet or overpowering. I wanted to give it a try (mostly because we had all of the ingredients on hand with the exception of green onions, fresh cilantro, and coconut milk), but I didn't know if it would even end up on the blog. 

I have a few other recipes I made a while ago that I still need to post, but I bumped this one up to this week because it was that good. I felt like I had to post it immediately! 

The sauce wasn't very spicy at all (though you can certainly make it spicier by adding more Sriracha), and it was sweet without being too sweet. The flavors of the coconut milk, red curry paste, and peanut butter blended perfectly so that one ingredient wasn't overpowering the rest. Eric even commented that he liked that the flavor of the peanut butter wasn't too strong. You can taste it, of course, but it's not the only thing you'll taste. 

As far as meatballs go, this recipe came together pretty quickly. I read somewhere (probably a food blog, but I can't remember which one) that Asian style meatballs should be blended in a food processor instead of being mixed by hand like a more traditional meatball. I have no idea whether or not this is actually true, but I took that advice and mixed these up in my food processor. I was kind of worried that they wouldn't stay together as I was shaping them because they seemed pretty fragile (and wet and mushy, but that just sounds completely unappetizing), but they were fine after I baked them. 

The sauce was also really simple. It only uses a few ingredients, and is done in just a few minutes. (Clearly a win!)

Thai Turkey Meatballs in a Red Curry Peanut Sauce

Adapted ever so slightly from a recipe on Jo Cooks.

Ingredient List (Meatballs):

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 3-4 green onions, white parts removed (You can chop these if you want, but since I mixed my meatballs in the food processor, I didn't bother. They'll get chopped up and mixed in with the rest of the ingredients so you really don't need to chop them yourself unless you're planning to mix your meatballs by hand.)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (Again, you can chop this up if you're planning to mix by hand, but otherwise I say be lazy and dump it into the food processor. Why do more work when your kitchen appliances can do it for you?)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions (Meatballs):

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, coat with cooking spray, and set aside.

3.  If you're using a food processor to mix the meatballs, add the ground turkey, green onions, fresh cilantro, fish sauce, red curry paste, Panko breadcrumbs, egg, sea salt, and black pepper to the food processor and blend until everything is combined. (This shouldn't take long.) If you're mixing the meatballs by hand, simply add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and start combining them with your hands.

4.  Once the ingredients have been mixed together, begin shaping the meat mixture into meatballs. I'm not great at making meatballs that are perfectly uniform, but I managed to get a total of 18 meatballs out of this.

5.  Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, making sure to keep them as evenly spaced as possible.

6.  Bake the meatballs in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the meat is fully cooked and the meatballs are beginning to brown a bit. (30 minutes was the perfect amount of time for mine.)


Ingredient List (Red Curry Peanut Sauce):

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 14 oz. can coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk.)
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 heaping tbsp peanut butter (I used crunchy because that's the variety we always buy. I worried that it might make the sauce too chunky, but I really didn't notice the tiny pieces of peanut while I was eating so I think it blended into the sauce pretty well. You can kind of see the peanut pieces in the pictures, but, like I said, they didn't make the sauce too chunky or crunchy. I say use whatever type of peanut butter you normally like to eat.)
• 2 tsp Sriracha (You can always adjust the heat of the sauce by adding more or less. I know everyone's definition of "spicy" is a little different, but neither Eric nor I thought the sauce was very spicy at all at this level.)

Instructions (Red Curry Peanut Sauce):

1.  Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

2.  Once the oil is heated, add the red curry paste and cook for about a minute.

3.  Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, peanut butter, and Sriracha, stirring constantly until the peanut butter, curry paste, and brown sugar have blended well into the coconut milk.

4.  Turn the heat to low and allow the sauce to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Since it only takes a few minutes for the sauce to cook, you don't really need to start making it until about 10-12 minutes before the meatballs have finished baking.)

5.  Once the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce and gently stir. Add additional fresh cilantro (if desired), and allow the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for about 3-5 minutes.

I served these meatballs over jasmine rice with a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. So good!

Tasty Tuesday: Thai Beef Kofta Bowls with Coconut Jasmine Rice

Unless you're new to my blog, you probably already know that I'm always searching for new and interesting ways to incorporate beef into our weekly meal plans. Each year Eric and I buy around 100 pounds of beef from his cousin's farm in western Nebraska. When you're just cooking for two people, that's a lot of meat. (Thankfully his parents let us store it in their extra freezer, and then we just pick some up once in a while to store at home. We have a pretty big freezer in our apartment, but there's no way we could fit that much meat in there at one time!)

Obviously since we have so much of it, we make a lot of beef meals. The only problem is that I get sick of things pretty quickly.

I'm not the kind of person who can have the same meal over and over. I definitely have favorite dishes, but I try to change things up at least a little each week. For example, I'm a huge fan of pasta. I could (no joke) eat it every day. But one of the reasons I love pasta so much is because it's very versatile. I could make pasta every night for a week and never make the same recipe twice. (I won't, though, because Eric doesn't love it quite as much as I do. Also, neither of us really wants to gain a bunch of weight by eating tons of pasta.)

Anyway, the point is that I like to mix things up when I cook and avoid making a lot of really similar meals all in a row.

So when I came across a recipe for Thai beef koftas, I was immediately intrigued. I'd never made koftas at home, but the dish looked really simple and we already had the majority of the ingredients on hand. Since Eric and I love all-in-one meals (particularly rice bowls!), I decided to turn the original recipe into a rice bowl complete with delicious coconut jasmine rice.


The result was awesome! I feel like I'm always saying how great the recipes I post taste (though, really, I wouldn't bother posting them here if I didn't think they were good), but this is one of the best things I've made in a while. As we were eating this I kept saying, "I think this is my new favorite beef dish."

If you're ever stuck wondering what to do with ground beef, you should definitely give this recipe a try. (Especially if you're a fan of coconut curries!)

Thai Beef Kofta Bowls with Coconut Jasmine Rice

Adapted from a recipe on Sweet Peas and Saffron.

Ingredient List (Koftas):

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp red curry paste (I usually use the Thai Kitchen brand.)
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Instructions (Koftas):

1.  Mix the fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic salt, ground ginger, Thai red curry paste, soy sauce, and worcestershire sauce together in a large bowl. Stir until everything is well combined.

2.  Add the beef to the large bowl, and, using your hands, mix the meat with the other ingredients.

3.  Shape the meat into elongated meatballs and then place on a grill over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes (or until the meat is completely cooked through). If you're using a traditional grill, you may find it easier to stick skewers through the koftas in order to turn them every couple of minutes. We just used our little George Foreman grill, and Eric lowered the lid so that both sides of the meat were cooking at once. It took a little less time and effort to cook it this way, though it obviously flattened them out a little more.

4.  When the meat has finished cooking, set the koftas aside on a plate until you're ready to assemble the bowls.

Ingredient List (Vegetables):

• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 medium red onion, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions (Vegetables):

1.  Add the sesame oil to a medium skillet and heat over medium heat.

2.  When the oil has heated, add the thinly sliced red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and red onion to the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables have just softened, stirring regularly.

3.  Once the vegetables have finished cooking, set them aside until you're ready to assemble the bowls.

Ingredient List (Coconut Sauce):

• 1/2 cup lite coconut milk (I used lite to make it a little healthier, but you could also use regular coconut milk.)
• 2 tsp red curry paste 
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• Juice from 1/2 a lime (I didn't measure this out exactly.)

Instructions (Coconut Sauce):

1.  Whisk together the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice in a medium bowl.

2.  Set the sauce aside until you're ready to assemble the bowls.

Ingredient List (Coconut Jasmine Rice):

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 1 1/2 cups lite coconut milk (This should use up the rest of a 14 oz. can of coconut milk.)
• 1 1/2 cups water

Instructions (Coconut Jasmine Rice):

1.  Bring the rice, coconut milk, and water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.

2.  Cover and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid is mostly evaporated.

3.  Remove from heat and allow to rest for a few minutes before fluffing with a fork.

4.  When the rice has finished cooking, assemble the bowls by adding the rice first, vegetables, koftas, and then topping with the coconut sauce.

I know that looks like a lot of steps, but it's actually a really simple meal to put together. I'll admit that it helps a lot if someone else can help with the cooking, but it's not impossible to do it all yourself. (I'm lucky because Eric usually helps me with most of our meals. In this case, he sliced the veggies while I prepared the meat, then he grilled the meat while I made the coconut sauce and cooked the veggies and rice. It just sped things along a bit.)

One final note: even though this uses red curry paste in both the koftas and the coconut sauce, this dish isn't what I would consider spicy. I think the flavor of the curry definitely comes out, but all of the other flavors stand out as well and there's not much (if any) heat.

Tasty Tuesday: Thai Drunken Noodles with Chicken

I have a confession to make: I haven't been feeling very inspired in the kitchen lately.

I usually think searching for new recipes to try, coming up with ways to tweak each recipe, and actually putting them together is really fun. But lately? It's felt more like a chore.

I have a feeling this has something to do with the fact that we spent several glorious days away from home, eating out for every single meal. We got used to the ease and convenience of having someone else prepare all of our food, and it was really hard to get back into a normal dinner routine. Seriously ... We've had Chinese takeout, Qdoba, and a couple of frozen meals in the nearly two weeks we've been back. We've had a few other things as well, but pretty much everything we've made at home has been incredibly simple and not what I'd consider "blogworthy" (think pasta and jarred sauce or eggs and hash browns).

So I started searching through the pictures in my phone to see if there were any recipes I'd made in the past that I'd never bothered to post. And that's when I saw it: Thai Drunken Noodles.



I made this recipe for the first time a really long time ago, and it was one of my earliest kitchen triumphs. It's not complicated, but it's packed with great flavor. It's also pretty versatile: you can easily substitute another protein (shrimp, tofu, beef, etc.) or add more (or different!) veggies. Additionally, it's a great substitute if you're craving Thai but don't feel like heading out for dinner (or paying for takeout).

Thai Drunken Noodles with Chicken

Adapted from a recipe on A Taste of Thai.

Ingredient List:

• 8 oz. wide rice noodles
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic (or, if you're lazy like me, the equivalent of jarred, pre-minced garlic)
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips (I used 2 chicken breasts, but they were very thick.)
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup garlic chili pepper sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee sauce. Also, please note that this amount of sauce will make the meal pretty spicy. If you're not a huge fan of really spicy food, start with a small amount of garlic chili pepper sauce. You can always add more if it doesn't have enough kick.)
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (I used A Taste of Thai sauce.)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Instructions:

1.  Soak the rice noodles according to the directions for stir fry. The recommended soak time on my package of noodles was 25-30 minutes, so make sure you allow some time for this step.

2.  Heat the sesame oil in a medium skillet. Add the chicken strips and cook until slightly browned, making sure no pink remains.

3.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

4.  Add the diced onions, tomatoes, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper to the garlic, and cook until the vegetables begin to soften (about 3-5 minutes).

5.  Add the cooked chicken to the vegetables, stirring to combine. Allow the meat and vegetables to cook together for about 1-2 minutes.

6.  Add the garlic chili pepper sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Squeeze in the juice from the lime, and stir several times to thoroughly combine.

7.  Drain the rice noodles, and add them to the skillet with the chicken, vegetables, and sauce. Stir several times to ensure the noodles are evenly coated. Allow the noodles to cook until they are firm but tender (al dente).

I realize that my Thai cooking will probably never be completely authentic and we'll never stop going to our favorite Thai restaurants, but at least this can (mostly) satisfy our cravings if we're trying to save some extra cash by limiting our dinners out.