Description
These turkey meatballs are simmered in a fragrant coconut milk sauce with warm spices and fresh lime—an easy, flavorful dinner with Thai-inspired flair.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Turkey Meatballs:
- 1.5 pounds ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon olive or peanut oil
- 1/3 cup chopped shallots
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 stalk of lemongrass white part only chopped fine ( 2-3 tablespoons)
- 1.5 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek, or red chili paste
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (or gluten-free breadcrumbs, or almond meal)
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed
- 3 cardamom pods lightly cracked
- 3” cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1.5 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and cut into 3 pieces
- 1.5 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 points of a star anise pod
- 14.5 oz can of coconut milk with full cream
- 1 cup chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- juice from 1/2 of a lime
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Saute: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and lemongrass and cook for one minute longer. Remove from heat.
- Make meatballs. Transfer the ground turkey to a large bowl and create a well in the center. Add the ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili paste, bread crumbs, cilantro and salt and pepper along with the reserved shallot mixture into the well. Mix with your hands or a spoon until just combined. Dampen your hands and shape the mixture into meatballs. This will make 18 to 20, 2” meatballs. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. This step will give the flavors time to meld and help the meatballs stay together while you cook them.
- Brown the meatballs. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet. When the pan is hot add the meatballs and brown on all sides. Set aside.
- Make the sauce. Smash the lemongrass with a mortar and pestle and add to the pan. Crack the cardamom pods open and add to the pan along with the cinnamon stick, turmeric, ginger pieces, coriander seeds, star anise, and coconut milk, and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the the chicken stock.
- Simmer. Nestle the meatballs in the sauce and simmer gently over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until cooked through.
- Season. Add the fresh-squeezed lime juice to the sauce, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with lime zest and cilantro. You can enjoy it as an appetizer, or turn it into a meal and serve it over rice or rice noodles.
Notes
For a low-carb option, try almond meal instead of bread crumbs and serve over a bed of spinach.
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge or can be frozen for up to 3 months.