Chicken Pearl Meatballs with Hot Pepper Jelly
Because I love the act of cooking, I don’t mind if it involves a bit of work. It’s work, but it’s worthwhile work, and I feel a sort of inexplicably magnetic pull to do it. Especially during this difficult time, sitting down to eat a homecooked meal with my family is the highlight of my day. I feel fortunate to be cloistered with people I love and enjoy being around, and good food is one of my favorite ways of expressing that love. I even enjoy the process leading up to the actual cooking. Mulling over what I’m going to cook during the week, deciding how I’ll adjust a recipe from how I made it previously, and mapping out what I need to buy to make it happen is a welcome distraction from the woes of the world.
Chicken Pearl Meatballs with Hot Pepper Jelly is one such recipe that has undergone many adjustment periods since I first began making it. Now I have a final product of which I am quite proud. Through trial and error, I’ve come to the conclusion that this meal is best served with charred broccoli, as the pepper jelly pairs nicely with not only the rice covered meatballs, but the broccoli as well. My recipe for hot pepper jelly makes more than enough jelly, which is great because the leftover jelly is very versatile. When serving this for dinner I always make a lot of broccoli; when the bowl is empty before everyone’s had seconds, I always end up wondering why I didn’t make more.
Notes
These pearl meatballs are covered in Thai sticky rice (also referred to as Thai sweet rice or glutinous rice - although it does not contain gluten) which can be found at specialty stores or ordered online.
The rice needs to soak beforehand, so plan accordingly.
I grind my own chicken because I like to control the ratio of fat, but store bought ground chicken works beautifully.
I recommend using dark meat, as ground white meat tends to end up quite dry.
Once formed and coated with the rice, the meatballs are then steamed. They can be served after steaming, but I prefer to then pan fry them briefly in butter, as this adds both texture and flavor. I used to only have one small steamer, so I steamed them in batches. I now have a two layer 10” bamboo steamer which I highly recommend as it’s inexpensive and fits all of the meatballs in one batch. I line the steamer with cheesecloth, which I then coat with cooking spray to prevent sticking (Parchment paper with holes wasn’t effective as too much of the steam was blocked).
I cook/char the broccoli in a large high sided carbon steel skillet over high heat in a high smoke point oil.
Chicken Pearl Meatballs
Makes ~18-24 meatball patties
1¼ cups (8.1 ounces or 230 grams) Thai sticky or sweet rice
1 pound (454 grams) ground chicken
¾ Tablespoon (0.5 ounces or 14 grams) grated ginger
1 Tablespoon (0.5 ounces or 14 grams) soy sauce
1 Tablespoon (0.4 ounces or 11 grams) sesame oil
1 clove garlic grated (3/4 teaspoon, 0.1 ounce, or 3 grams)
½ Tablespoon (0.2 ounce or 7 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon (0.1 ounce or 3 grams) kosher salt
1 large egg, beaten
⅓ cup (0.5 ounces or 14 grams) panko bread crumbs
Soak sticky rice in water for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. When ready to prepare the meatballs, drain the rice and spread out on a paper towel lined sheet pan to absorb some of the excess water.
Cut cheesecloth to fit into steamer (a double layer of cheesecloth works well here). You want it large enough so that it goes up the sides of the steamer but not so large as to drape down and get near the heat source. I then lay the cheesecloth onto parchment paper and spray with cooking spray (alternately you can brush with oil - but that is a bit more work). Line the steamer(s) with the cheesecloth.
Combine the remaining ingredients and form into golf ball sized patties. Place some of the meatballs on the rice and roll them one at a time, carefully pressing into the rice to help them adhere. I like to slightly flatten the balls just a bit, as a fat patty is easier to work with than a ball. Place in cheesecloth lined steamer. Cover and steam for ~25 minutes, flipping over halfway through cooking. When flipping, I recommend removing the steamer baskets from the stove first, as the hot steam can be quite painful. I gently flip with a fork. When done, transfer the patties to a platter or sheet pan. They can be eaten at this point, but I recommend pan frying them in butter until they are lightly browned. Serve with charred broccoli and hot pepper jelly.
