Vietnamese Meatballs or Xiu Mai

Making meatballs one already thinking about ground beef, pork, and veal; also some kind of cheese and simmering in marinara sauce. What a yummy dish it is! As always, I want to cut back on most of the fat and calories on most of my recipes, and this one is one of them. Vietnamese meatballs are similar to a Chinese dish called Shu Mai, served at the dim sum hour, which contains ground pork. I created this recipe using a combination of ground turkey and chicken for a leaner dish. I guarantee that this dish will fulfill the desire for meatballs – either Italian meatballs or Chinese Shu Mai.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup white onions, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs cornstarch
Sauce;
2 fresh tomatoes
1 cup fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper
1 tsp cayenne

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients listed above Sauce and mix well. Form the meat paste into meatballs about the same size as a golf ball.
In a large sauté pan, add 2 tbs oil. Fry the meatballs until nearly done because I like to simmer the meatballs more in the sauce. Chicken and turkey tend to dry easily, so not overcooking them is helpful.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Slash an X on top of each tomato and blanch them in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove them and place in cold water. When the tomatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel off the skin. Place both tomatoes and pineapple in a food processor and blend them into a sauce.
In the same large sauté pan, add 2 tbs oil. Cook onions for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until onions and garlic are fragrant.

Pour the tomato sauce into pan and bring to boil.

Place fried meatballs into the tomato sauce and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Season the sauce with soy sauce, salt, black pepper and cayenne (if you like a thicker sauce, then mix 2 tbs of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and pour into the sauce).

Serve the meatballs with hot cooked rice or on a baguette for breakfast.