Zesty Asian Meatballs with Cucumber Sesame Salad

Tonight's dinner was going to be plain ole' meatballs and broccoli. Then, I was halfway through mixing the meat and decided to zest it up. Amazing what a little fresh ginger can do! Coupled with soy sauce, sesame seeds and rice vinegar....Boom! So good.

Seriously, the meatballs tasted like dumpling filling.

Meatballs
1 lb. Ground Turkey
3/4 C. Panko Crumbs
1 Egg
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1/4 C. Chopped Cilantro
1/4 C. Chopped Onion
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp. Minced Ginger

Sauce
1/3 C. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Sriracha
1 Lime, Juiced
2 Scallions, Chopped
3 Tbsp. Water
2 Tsp. Olive Oil

Cucumber Salad
1 Cucumber
1/4 C. Rice Vinegar
1 Tsp. Sugar (granulated)
Dash of Salt
2 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds, Roasted (see below)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Mix the all the turkey ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Form into medium- sized meatballs and place on baking sheet. Place in oven. Cook until crispy, about 15-18 minutes.

Heat a dry pan to medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and keep shaking the pan to keep the seeds from burning. Cook until lightly browned. Set aside. Peel the cucumber leaving a little bit of the green peel. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice as thinly as possible. In a small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved. Pour over the cucumber slices and top with sesame seeds.

In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, sriracha, lime juice, water and oil. Add the scallions and set aside.

When the meatballs are done, spoon a little of the sauce over them and serve with the cucumber salad. Have the sauce on the side for extra dipping! I also served the sauce over steamed broccoli!

A zesty twist on a basic dinner!
Enjoy,
e