Scott's Recipe

Meatballs - Mongolian Beef

Category: Beef

½ cup each: breadcrumbs AND thinly sliced green onions (white only, keep greens for serving!)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp each: minced garlic AND soy sauce
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp each: red pepper flakes AND white pepper
1 lb ground beef

Mongolian Sauce:
½ cup water
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic grated
2 tsp each: sesame oil AND grated ginger
1 Tbsp each: oyster sauce AND hoisin sauce
⅛ tsp each: red pepper flakes AND white pepper
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds


1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, green onions, egg, minced garlic, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. Mixed together until totally combined. Then, add the ground beef and mix until *just combined* you don’t want to overwork the meat or you’ll have tough meatballs.
3. Shape the meatball mixture into meatballs using 1 ½ tablespoon of mix per meatball. Line the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake the meatballs for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Internal Temp of 160.
4. While the meatballs are baking, heat the ingredients for the sauce (except the sesame seeds) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a whisk to dissolve the sugar and allow the sauce to come to a simmer before lowering the heat to low. Allow the sauce to simmer for 5-6 minutes (you want it to just barely bubble on the surface.) Stir frequently so the sauce doesn’t burn.
5. When the meatballs are cooked, add them to the skillet and toss them in the sauce to coat. If your skillet is small, you can add ½ of the meatballs, coat and remove them to a serving dish. Sprinkle the meatballs with the toasted sesame seeds and the slivered green onions and serve!

Notes
if you're making these for a party and would like to store them, I suggest doubling the batch of sauce (meatballs soak up quite a bit as they sit.) And placing them in a slow cooker on the 'warm' setting.
the sauce does thicken naturally as it sits, so if you prepare this early on, you may need a bit more water to help thin it back to a glaze-like consistency.