These easy Korean meatballs are baked in the oven and made of a mixture of beef, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce and gochujang. The perfect new weeknight recipe to add to your menu. This post contains affiliate links.
It’s safe to say that meatballs are definitely one of my go-to dishes. I love making Italian-style meatballs in my slow cooker, and of course, my fresh and light, turkey and spinach meatballs with notes of lemon and chili. I was inspired by Korean flavours for this meatball recipe.
I looked to some of the essential Korean flavours and ingredients, including gochujang (a hot Korean pepper paste that I’ve used in shrimp stir frys and Korean chicken wings), fresh ginger, sesame oil and green onion.
I went a little rogue and added cilantro to these meatballs which, from my research, isn’t an herb that is traditionally used in Korean cuisine. The reason I added cilantro to the meatballs is because I love how the freshness lightens up the beef and pairs with the ginger and green onion.
That said, if you are not a fan of cilantro, you can 100% leave it out.
The ingredients in these meatballs are things that I always have on hand, so whenever ground beef is on sale at the grocery store (you can find my budget grocery shopping tips here), I have this recipe in my back pocket for a quick and easy dinner.
What side dishes to serve with Korean meatballs?
With meatballs, I like to keep my side dishes simple–miso roasted sweet potatoes cook at the same time as the meatballs and are a hands-off, hearty choice. For something better for warmer weather, grilled sesame asparagus is an obvious choice. This would also go well with my Vietnamese-style vermicelli salad.
Korean-Inspired Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoon gochujang
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet in foil.
- In a large bowl, mix beef with egg, bread crumbs, garlic, onion, cilantro, soy sauce, fish sauce, gochujang, ginger, and sesame oil.
- Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and place 1-inch apart on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until fully cooked.
Let me know if you give these Korean meatballs a try in the comments below.
Nazmin Sarker