Chinese BBQ Pork Meatballs with Snap Peas from Well Fed Weeknights

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When it comes to foundational Paleo cookbooks, two cornerstones have to be Well Fed and Well Fed 2 by Melissa Joulwan. They are simply some of the best books out there when it comes to easy, straightforward Paleo recipes with that just taste amazing.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited to receive an advance copy of Melissa’s newest book in the Well Fed series, Well Fed Weeknights. 

The book is a collection of 128 Paleo recipes that can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Every recipe looked pretty amazing; I wanted to eat all of them. You can download a sample of the book for yourself and even preorder it here.

It was a challenge to decide what recipe to try out first. I eventually landed on Chinese BBQ Pork Meatballs with Snap Peas because 1) I love meatballs and 2) the combination of spices looked intriguing.

One thing that I really liked about this recipe was the minimal prep required. Aside from measuring out the ingredients, all I needed to do was chop an onion and a date, and peel some garlic.

Making the meatballs was straightforward. Just mix ground pork with some ground coriander, powder ginger, salt and pepper. Take heaping tablespoons of the mixture, roll into balls, and plop them in a baking dish.

Next, it is time to make the BBQ sauce. First you sauté some diced onion in olive oil.

Add a spice blend of powdered ginger, Chinese five-spice powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add two tablespoons of tomato paste, a chopped date, and a smashed clove of garlic and cook for another minute. Then pour in some coconut aminos, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, almond butter, and a little water. Simmer until thick and bubbly, about five minutes.

Carefully transfer the hot sauce to a container and puree with a stick blender. You could prep the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge after this point.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheat 425°F oven. The result: a dish loaded with amazing flavor.

About 5 minutes before the meatballs are done, toast some sesame seeds in a non-stick skillet.

Transfer the sesame seeds to a dish, then add the snap peas. Cook for 3-5 minutes until just tender.

Toss the snap peas in the toasted sesame seeds and some ghee and serve with the meatballs garnished with some green onion. Enjoy!

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Chinese BBQ Pork Meatballs with Snap Peas

This recipe is like an order of Chinese spare ribs that have been thoughtfully deboned, chopped, and rolled into an amiable, no–chopsticks– needed meatball. The classic Chinese BBQ sauce is usually based on soy and hoisin sauces. This recipe uses just one dried date, a handful of spices, and nut butter to recreate that sticky, tangy-sweet sauce.

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Melissa Joulwan

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 1 ⁄2 pounds ground pork
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ⁄2 medium sweet onion
• 1 dried medjool date
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 ⁄4 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 ⁄8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 ⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ⁄3 cup coconut aminos
• 1 ⁄4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons sunflower seed or almond butter
• 1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Snap Peas

• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1 pound snap peas
• 2 teaspoons ghee
• garnish: a few scallions

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450F.
• Prep the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, salt, ginger, coriander, and black pepper. Mix well with your hands, then moisten your hands with cold water and shake them off. With the 1-tablespoon scoop, measure rounded tablespoons of meat, roll it into balls, and place them in the 2-quart baking dish.
• Make the sauce. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, 2 minutes. While it warms, dice the onion. Add the onion to the pan with a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 5–7 minutes. While the onion cooks, pit and coarsely chop the date, then smash and peel the garlic; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the ginger, Chinese five-spice, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Add the spices to the onion in the pan and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, date, and garlic; stir-fry about 1 minute. Add the coconut aminos, water, sunflower seed butter, rice vinegar, and sesame oil; stir to combine. Simmer 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a pint-size Mason jar and purée the sauce with a stick blender (or in a food processor or blender).
• Make the magic. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the whole lot is beginning to caramelize.
• Make the snap peas. About 5 minutes before the meatballs are ready, heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir-fry until golden, 3–5 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a plate to cool and return the skillet to medium-high heat. Wash the snap peas and toss them into the hot pan. Stir-fry until tender, 2–3 minutes. Add the ghee and some of the sesame seeds; toss to coat. Taste and add a little salt and pepper. Thinly slice the scallions and remove the meatballs from the oven.
• To serve, divide the snap peas among individual serving plates and top with meatballs; sprinkle with more toasted sesame seeds and the sliced scallions.

Tried this recipe?Mention @sophisticatedcaveman or tag #sophisticatedcaveman on Instagram!

Notes

You Know How You Could Do That?:
Replace the ground pork with ground chicken.

Cookup Tips:
Prep the sauce and store it in the Mason jar in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, roll the raw meatballs and follow the directions, starting with "Make the magic."

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