Meatballs in Sweet & Sour Sauce

by Millie Bentley

Greetings. Here’s a good one, Meat Balls in Sweet-Sour Sauce, to have in your repertoire. This may be used for a small dinner for four served over steamed rice; expanded to serve as an appetizer or a larger dinner party main dish; the meat portion may be made into a meatloaf; and the sauce may be served on the side to be used over batter-fried pork, halibut, chicken or salmon. May even be added to purchased spaghetti sauce.

Meat Balls in Sweet-Sour Sauce

1 pound lean ground beef

½ pound ground pork, not sausage

½ teaspoon each salt, pepper, and dried oregano leaves

½ large onion, grated

½ green bell pepper, grated

2 eggs

3 slices bread

Place everything except bread in a large mixing bowl. Take each slice of bread and put it under running water, briefly squeeze the water out gently and crumble bread into the bowl with other ingredients. Using your clean hands, mix everything together well. Form meat into walnut-sized balls, about 1 ½ inches in diameter and either sauté meatballs in a skillet in a little olive oil about 5 minutes or until browned (do this in batches so you do not crowd the meatballs) or place meatballs on a rack set up in a 9” x 13” baking dish and bake in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or so until browned. Set aside and prepare sauce.

Sauce

1 cup pineapple chunks, drained (some juice)

½ green bell pepper, cut into chunks

½ red bell pepper, cut into chunks (or use 1 whole bell pepper of either color)

1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and cut into fine slivers

1 walnut sized piece of ginger root, peeled and cut into fine slivers

1 carrot, julienne cut (match-stick sized pieces)

Prepare above ingredients and set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, place:

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ cup sugar

¼ cup catsup

1/3 cup pineapple juice

¼ cup vinegar, apple cider variety

Stir well to dissolve sugar. Heat over medium heat. Mix together to form a paste:

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 tablespoons water

Pour gradually into sauce as you stir. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens. Add pineapple chunks, bell peppers, jalapeno, ginger and carrots. Stir and cook about 1 minute, cover, remove from heat and set aside.

At this point, meatballs may be added to warm sauce and heated through before serving. If you are using the sauce for batter fried pork chunks, halibut, fish or chicken, I recommend serving sauce on the side so that your batter fried food doesn’t become soggy.

Until next time, vaya con Dios, amigos.