Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs
Super simple homemade pork meatballs and the easiest sweet and sour sauce to drench in. Sweet and sour pork meatballs has become a firm family favourite!
Ingredients
- 500 g pork mince
- A pinch salt
- ground black pepper
- 25 g dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp garlic clove crushed
- 1 spring onion sliced
Sweet and sour sauce
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp water
- 170 ml pineapple juice
- 50 ml rice vinegar
- 60 ml ketchup
- 70 g Soft light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients for the meat balls in a bowl and scrunch together with your hands until all combined.
- Line a tray with greaseproof paper and shape the mince into 10 balls (more or less, depending on the size you go for), placing them on the tray as you go. Bake in a hot oven (about 190° /170° fan) for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the water and cornflour to form a paste. Leave aside.
- Pour all the ingredients for the sauce (apart from cornflour mix) into a pan and whisk to combine. Leave to simmer.
- Pour in the cornflour and whisk until thickened and bubbling. Pour all over meatballs when serving or use to dip.
Notes
Rice vinegar - you can also use the rice wine called mirin if you have any lurking in your larder. This is what I have used quite a few times.
Soy sauce - I went for the normal soy but feel free to use light or dark. Obviously dark will change the flavour to something a lot stronger but I'm sure the sweetness from the sugar will offset this.
Leftovers - I reckon these would make a delicious meatball sub sandwich! Layer up with melted cheese and tomato sauce. *Off to kitchen to try this...*
Re-heating - if you wish to reheat these, ensure they are absolutely piping hot and never reheat twice. I would do it in the microwave to be safe. The sauce is less risky to reheat. You could heat it in the pan until hot.
Aga cooking - all my recipes are tested and cooked on an Aga. If you are an Aga owner like me, cook your meatballs in the roasting oven for 20 minutes. I did my sauce on the induction but equally you could use the simmering plate. Same times as the recipe above.
Storage - any leftover balls should be kept in the fridge, in a sealed container for 2 days maximum. Keep the sauce in a covered pot too. The sauce can be kept for longer, about a week.
Freezing - a great idea would be to freeze a batch of these before cooking. You can also freeze them post-cooking and defrost thoroughly before cooking again. I would only freeze for a month though as they will deteriorate after this. If the meat is raw, you can freeze for 2 months.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!