I’ve always loved mini-meatballs. Beef, turkey, or Swedish, I’ll gobble them up as a meal or snack any day of the week.  I recently visited a Chinese restaurant for dim sum where Asian chicken meatballs were featured.  Yummy!  Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to make them at home. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil are staples in my pantry so I only had to shop for the ground chicken and a few more ingredients.  I like to nibble on these straight out of the oven, but for a real treat, I dunk them in a sweet chili dipping sauce from the supermarket.

1 pound ground chicken (dark meat only)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon minced scallion
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

sheet pan, lined with foil
cooking spray
large (5-quart) mixing bowl
measuring cups and spoons
small (1 1/2 quart) mixing bowl
instant-read thermometer

METHOD
1. Set oven to 450 degrees. Spritz a foil-lined pan with a generous amount of cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place ingredients in bowl, then mix by hand until just combined.
3. Divide mixture in half, then each half into thirds. Split each third in half and roll into 2 balls–for a total of 12 meatballs. Arrange meatballs evenly on pan.
4. Bake until lightly browned and internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees–about 14 minutes.

NOTES & TIPS

• For best results, avoid using white-meat only ground chicken.  Look for 100% dark meat or a mixture of both breast and dark meat.

• The ground chicken mixture will be sticky when wet. Wetting your hands with water occasionally will make the rolling the meatballs easier. Or, put the mixture in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to help firm it up.

READY IN
30 minutes

YIELD
12 meatballs