Gochujang Turkey Meatballs
Gochujang is a spicy paste that's a staple in Korean cooking. It's a savory, slightly sweet, spicy fermented condiment. You can pick it up at your local Asian grocery store, in the Asian food section of your grocery store, or Trader Joe's seasonally carries it. Today I'm using it to make a sticky sauce for meatballs, served over rice with a side of roasted broccolini.
Servings: 4 yield(s)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Ingredients
    For the Meatballs
  • 1 lb Ground Turkey
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 2 tbsp Gochujang
  • 3 Green Onions
  • 1 Piece fresh ginger (About 1 inch)
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
    • For the Sticky Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
  • 3 tbsp Honey
  • 3 tbsp Rice Vinegar
  • 3 tbsp Gochujang
  • 1 Piece Fresh Ginger (About 1 inch)
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 tbsp Roasted Sesame Oil
    • Sides / Serving
  • 1 Bunch Broccolini or Head of Broccoli
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Chili Pepper (Can use Thai Chilis, Jalapenos, or Serranos)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Start by preparing your veggies. Peel the ginger and garlic and mince. Mince the green onion and set aside.
  3. To a large bowl, add the ground turkey, soy sauce, gochujang, green onions, half the ginger, half the garlic, salt and pepper to a bowl. Mix until combined. Roll into small tablespoon sized balls, which should make about 16 meatballs total. Place on one half of the baking sheet. On the other half, add your broccolini and lightly toss with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
  4. While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce. In a small pot over medium high heat, add soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, gochujang, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and 1/3 cup water. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce the heat to medium, simmering for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens and reduces. Remove from heat.
  5. Once the meatballs have finished cooking, remove the broccoli from the baking sheet and set aside. Spoon some sauce (about 1/2 of the sauce total) over the meatballs, coating thoroughly. Return to the oven for 2 - 3 mintues until the sauce is sticky.
  6. Serve the meatballs with the broccolini over a bead of rice. Serve with an extra drizzle of sauce and top with additional green onions and chilis. Enjoy!