Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs
foxeslovelemons
Photo by James Ransom
- Serves
- 20 meatballs
- Prep Time
- 20 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 Minutes
For the Super Bowl this year, my husband wanted to make some Korean chicken wings he had seen in a magazine. The wings turned out great, but I now have a pretty sizable tub of gochujang sitting in my fridge.
Not one to let food go to waste, I've made it my mission to use it up. It's actually pretty versatile and has a nice spicy and smoky flavor. A little bit goes a long way toward giving an otherwise boring dish a little Korean flair. Along the lines of "party food" like chicken wings, I thought it would work in meatballs, too (my recipe is adapted from a recipe from "Spoon Fork Bacon"). These meatballs are spicy and smoky and delicious.
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 scallions, very thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoon canola oil
Glaze & Assembly:
- 1/3 cup apricot preserves
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
- 1 1/2 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds, for garnishing
Featured Video
Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs
If you're looking to impress a crowd (or just want a fun snack/appetizer to make), look no further than these gochujang meatballs. They are our new favorite cocktail party appetizer, with a kick of spice to keep things interesting. All you have to do is just mix the ingredients together, fry, bake, and brush on a sweet-spicy glaze. We know traditional meatballs are always a go-to classic, but let's face it: Your meatballs are probably stuck in a white-bread rut. This is how you break them out of it. Besides the gochujang, the meatballs themselves are made with very meatball-y ingredients, such as scallions, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, and ground beef. You can use any type of ground meat you'd like—just keep an eye on the internal temperature as you're baking.
The glaze really puts these meatballs over the top flavor-wise. It features apricot preserves, gochujang, of course, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Just cook for about 5 minutes to thicken, and the glaze is ready to go. If you want to make this a meal, serve over some cooked rice or rice noodles. And to avoid washing an extra pan, it seems like a lot of commenters skipped the pan-frying and just baked the meatballs in the oven right away, which seemed to work pretty well. Feel free to adjust the ratios of the ingredients and experiment with whatever you've got in your fridge or pantry. We promise that whomever you serve these meatballs to are going to absolutely devour them!
Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, scallions, garlic, panko, gochujang, ginger, salt, and pepper. The key to good meatballs is not to overmix. Just gently combine until everything is evenly distributed. Form the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs.
- Step 2
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Working in batches (do not overcrowd), brown the meatballs on all sides. Transfer the meatballs to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a meatball registers 160°F.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, in small pot over medium heat, combine the preserves, gochujang, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Step 4
To serve, brush the meatballs with the glaze. Sprinkle with the scallions and sesame seeds.