Hola Mi Gente,
I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for a while now, but we all know how wild summers are: one minute, you’re finally done complaining about the weather, and the next you’ve blinked and stores are putting out their Christmas supplies. Thankfully, this is a recipe that transcends the seasons, as all of the ingredients are readily available year round. This is a recipe that is perfect for meal-planning or prepping, and is a quick weeknight meal to get in a good combination of protein and veggies.
The heart of this salad is the meatballs. I was inspired to make these after making a few rounds of Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings), and realizing the richness and depth of flavor that ground chicken renders. I feel like before Gyoza, I never even thought of using ground chicken, and nowadays I find myself reaching for it more and more at the grocery store. I love that it is easy to add flavor to, like Turkey, but it has a more distinct flavor. As an added plus, it is really one of the more affordable kinds of meat you can purchase.
Next in line to make this salad great, an assortment of ingredients that add a satisfying crunch. Not so much that you feel like you’re getting a jaw workout, but enough to make you savor the freshness of the salad. Combine the crunch with the tangy-sweet dressing, and you have an explosion of flavors in concert together.
A Note About Ingredients Here
A lot of times when I’m processing recipes to share with you, I feel a sort of guilt if the ingredients it calls for are not considered mainstream pantry staples. As I’ve processed this, I have found that most of the time this is particularly true if the ingredients are used in cuisines outside of dominant, U.S. culture. I want to be clear, that I do care very much about accessibility of recipes here, but I firmly stand behind these ingredients as ones that we should have in our pantries and larders.
I recreated this recipe in my hometown not too long ago, and even in Rural Georgia was able to find most of these ingredients or suitable substitutions. The only ingredient I couldn’t find was Mirin–a non-alcoholic sweet rice wine (I used the juice from a can of mandarins instead), and black sesame–and black sesame is more of an aesthetic preference here, so regular sesame seeds will be fine.
As I myself have been learning and growing in my understanding of Japanese cuisine, I have found the blog Just One Cookbook invaluable. There you can find a deep heart for the vast, beautiful world of Japanese cuisine, as well as future inspirations to use some of the newer ingredients in your pantry.
Love, love, love,
Crunchy Meatball Salad
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 LBS Ground Chicken
- 2 Cabbage Leaves Finely Chopped
- 1 TBSP Fresh Ginger Grated
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1/4 TSP White Pepper
- 1.5 TSP Kosher Salt
- 1 TSP Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Cup Shiitake Mushroom You can use dry (soaked) mushrooms, or fresh if you have them!
- 1/4 Cup Flour
- 2 TSP Soy Sauce
- Oil to Cook
Salad
- 1 Small Head of Cabbage Chopped
- 2 Cucumbers Shaved or Sliced
- 3 Heaping Cups Spinach
- 1 Cup Chow Mein Noodles
- 1/4 C Shaved Almonds
Mirin Dressing
- 1/2 C Mirin (Non-Alcoholic Sweet Rice Wine)
- 1 TBSP Sesame Oil
- 1/5 C White Vinegar
- 1 TBSP Black Sesame Seeds
- 1.5 TSP Kosher Salt
Instructions
Meatballs
- Combine all ingredients except the oil together in a medium mixing bowl. Form meatballs (there should be about 12 ping-pong ball sized meatballs). On the stove heat up a deep dutch oven or wok over medium-high heat. Add oil to heat for about 30 seconds. Add in meatballs and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, rotating once the meatballs have become golden on all sides and an internal thermometer reads at least 160 F.
Salad + Dressing
- Chop up vegetables and almonds and put together in a bowl, leaving the chow mien noodles reserved to the side. Combine all the dressing ingredients together and stir for about 30 seconds, or until salt is dissolved. Taste the dressing and adjust seasonings if needed to your liking (more mirin for a sweeter flavor, more salt to balance, more vinegar for acidity). Toss the salad with the dressing and make sure it is fully coated.
- Just before serving, add the chow mien noodles making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the salad. Dish up the salad, add in the meatballs, and enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
