One of my favorite dishes to prepare at holiday time are meatballs. They are super easy and can be served nicely as a small bite. Who doesn’t love those yummy meatballs swimming in a creamy sauce? Last year, as a riff of the traditional party fare, Swedish Meatballs. I created a fabulous from-scratch Thai pork-ish meatball small bite that soaked up all the yummy flavors of a Green Thai Coconut Sauce and was quite delectable at the end of a cocktail toothpick. When I found these Hungry Planet Thai Meatballs in the freezer section, I thought I would give them a try. Last year, I
used Hungry Planet “pork” for the meatball base and they cooked up beautifully, albeit the texture was a bit sticky and I had to work a bit to keep them in the shape of a ball. More to come on that. Thus, for a shortcut, I thought to myself – why add extra time to a great dish, when these Hungry Planet Thai meatballs might work? And, most important, how would they muster up in my Faux Meat Review Process?
Healthy Planet Thai Meatball Assessment
Visual – They look like meatballs in the package. It’s hard to beat that.
Tactile – When cooked, they look and feel like meatballs. You cook them frozen right out of the package
Cooking – how did they hold up?
Per the packaging:
“Keep frozen. Cook from frozen. Hungry Planet Pork Thai Meatballs are fully cooked. Conventional Oven: Oven rack to center, preheat to 450 degrees F. Place frozen meatballs on a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake 8-10 mins. Turn meatballs, and bake additional 6-8 mins until lightly browned and 165 degrees F internal temp. Skillet: Preheat lightly oiled non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add frozen meatballs. Cover and cook for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook until lightly browned and 165 degrees F internal temp. Microwave (1100 Watt): Place 8 oz. (1 bag) frozen meatballs in a microwave-safe dish, cover with a microwave-safe lid, and cook for 2 mins. Remove the lid and stir. Replace lid, microwave additional 1 min, until 165 degrees F internal temp. Perishable. Keep refrigerated or frozen. If purchased frozen, thaw in refrigerator and use sealed within 10 days.”
I will be honest, they were a little challenging browning them in a skillet. I’m not sure if it was the skillet, the heat level, or what, but they did want to initially stick in the pan. I tried turning down the heat, covering them and letting them cook longer so the caramelization might release the meatball better. They stuck a bit but it is entirely possible it was a user error. Sometimes I just do better in a cast iron skillet.
Once I got past the sticky part and added the sauce to simmer, they were awesome.
Taste and Texture:
Amazing. Perfect meaty texture without being “gooey”. The meatballs tasted like pork with a perfect not too spicy but interesting Thai flavoring – almost identical to the ones I slaved over last year.
Nutrition: A winner! For the most part, these meatballs met my initial evaluation criteria of the following per serving:
> 12 grams of Protein
< 9 grams of Fat (ideally no saturated fat)
< 500 milligrams of Sodium
Any fiber is a bonus.
Healthy Planet Thai Meatballs weigh in at:
17 grams of Protein
4 grams of Fat with no saturated fat
650 milligrams of Sodium – a bit high
4 grams of fiber – bonus points!!!
The best part? No one at the party knew they were plant-based meatballs. Why give away your secret?
Coconut Thai Green Curry Meatballs and Sauce
Brown one package of Hungry Planet Thai Meatballs per package instructions.
Make the Sauce
Ingredients:
½ can of full-fat coconut milk
½ cup non-dairy milk (Cashew or Almond are the best, in my opinion)
2 Tbsp Coconut Thai Spice Blend from The Spice and Tea Exchange ™ or your blend of choice
½ cup Better Than Bouillon Not Chicken broth
1 tsp white miso
Kefir lime leaf
Combine all ingredients in a skillet and simmer. Add the meatballs and simmer on the stove or crockpot until the sauce is reduced by one-half.
Serve with cocktail toothpicks and garnish to make it beautiful.
Garnishments: chopped peanuts, cashews, cilantro, grated carrot, lime, Furikake seed mix
Want to learn more about how to use this simple recipe?
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