Niku-dango (Japanese Pork Meatballs)

A HISTORY STORY: Japanese Pork Meatballs 

 The name literally means meat (niku) and ball (dango) so you can technically use any meat to make this (although chicken meatballs are usually called tsukune and fish meatballs are called tsumire). Since beef was introduced later to Japan, many Japanese-style meatball dishes use pork.

Banana bread is a type of bread made from mashed bananas. It is often a moist, sweet, cake-like quick bread; however there are some banana bread recipes that are yeast raised breads.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 onion diced

• 1 inch ginger grated

• 1 tbsp sake

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp corn starch

• 1 tsp salt

• oil for frying

Sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp mirin

• 2 tbsp sake

• 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed in 3 tbsp water

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs (minus the oil) in a bowl and mix well.

2. Take about 1 tbsp of the meat mixture and roll into a ball. Repeat until you use up all the meat (it will be about 24 meatballs). *TIP*: wet your hands periodically to keep the meat from sticking.

3. Heat oil in a deep frypan or pot to approximate 350° F.

4. Gently drop each meatball into the oil. Fry in batches (do not overcrowd( for about 3-4 minutes (or until browned and cooked through).

5. Transfer to a mesh tray or onto paper towels to drain excess oil.

6. For the sauce, add all the sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch/water combo) in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.

7. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat on low and add the cornstarch/water mixture. Mix well until the sauce is thickened. Remove from heat.

8. Pour sauce over meatballs, toss, and serve!