SCALLION GINGER CHICKEN MEATBALLS in BROTH with RICE NOODLES and CHILI CRISP

I just got home after spending a month in southeast asia, and despite being extremely well-fed while there …. as always, I couldn’t wait to cook a meal at home. I had plans to make something totally different than the foods we had been eating. I was thinking more of a red sauce, red meat kind of meatball for my first meal back, but something in my senses and subconscious led me here. After weeks and weeks of meals with fish sauce, soy, chilies, ginger, scallions, noodles, dumplings, fresh veggies, etc etc …. it’s not surprising that I ended up with these little meatballs with all those flavors still fresh in my mind. A meal that also fed my January craving for broths and soups and overall warming comforting things.

The flavor of the meatballs is reminiscent of a chicken dumpling filling, but for our sake, less work than making a dumpling. And, when you add the meatballs to the broth (like an Italian wedding soup of sorts, but also not at all) they end up retaining a bit of the moisture from the broth, as well as adding their flavor back to the broth. A win-win and perfect pairing, if you ask me. There isn’t a lot of broth here, just enough for them to be wading around beside some baby mushrooms, some greens, and some thin and light vermicelli rice noodles. Topped with a drizzle of some freshly simmered chili crisp oil…. this the the kind of broth bath I would like to be wading around in.

SCALLION GINGER CHICKEN MEATBALLS in BROTH

with RICE NOODLES and CHILI CRISP

This soup can take on many varieties depending on your tastes, the time you want to commit, and what you have available to you. Making the chili oil is optional, and if you want to make it but don’t have all the spices, feel free to play around or research other recipes. You can also use a store-bought chili oil, totally acceptable, or omit it all together if you’re not into spicy things. It’s also totally acceptable to use a good-quality (!) good tasting (!) pre-made broth, but I always believe for broth, nothing is better than homemade. I didn’t include a broth recipe here, but if you don’t have your own personal favorite recipe, you can use this one from my site HERE . Lastly, feel free to add or change up any of the veggies here. There are so many other veggie variations that would work super well. Same with the noodles, feel free to use whatever kind of noodle (or pasta or rice!) you prefer, just keeping in mind cooking times and amounts.

INGREDIENTS 

For the chicken meatballs:

¾ cup of panko bread crumbs 
1 large egg
1 tablespoon of minced chives 
1 scallion, white and green parts, minced
1 tablespoon of soy sauce or tamari 
2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil 
1 clove of garlic, pressed
2” piece of ginger, peeled and grated (using a micoplane)
A pinch of salt
Black pepper 
1lb of ground chicken meat
A couple tablespoons of neutral, high-heat oil, for frying 

For the chili crisp:

2 tablespoons of korean chili powder (or your favorite chili powder)
1 tablespoon of red chili flakes
1 tablespoon of white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of szechwan peppercorns (ground)
1 teaspoon of dried garlic slices (ground)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
½ cup of neutral oil (canola or peanut)

For the broth:

1 liter of your favorite chicken broth (homemade is always best)
A handful of your favorite mushrooms (shimeji, enoki, shiitake, etc)
A handful of fresh spinach or bok choy, finely chopped (or whole if you prefer)
½ - 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger 
2 nests of Vermicelli rice noodles 

METHOD 

MAKE the chicken meatballs:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the panko, egg, chives, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and stir to fully combine. Add the ground chicken and mix until the spices etc are fully incorporated. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes (or max overnight) for the mixture to cool and make it easier to form and fry the meatballs. This is a good time to make the chili crisp. 

While the meatball mixture chills, MAKE the chili crisp (if using):

Place all of the spices and seeds into a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, until you see tiny bubbles (you can test by adding a pinch of chili ,and if it sizzles, it's ready). Pour the hot oil over the spices. Set aside and allow to cool while you finish the meatballs. 

THEN, fry and bake the meatballs + prepare the broth:

Preheat the oven to 450F. Form the meatballs by rolling (just under) a tablespoon size of the mixture between your hands, and place them onto a baking sheet. Heat a couple tablespoons of the peanut oil in a cast iron pan, over medium-high heat. Transfer back to the baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, until they are cooked through and there is no pink inside. 

When the meatballs are baking in the oven, you can start the broth. Heat the broth in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms, greens, ginger and noodles. It will only take about 5-10 minutes for the veggies to soften and the noodles to cook, so this should be ready around the same time as the meatballs. 

ASSEMBLE + SERVE:

Add the cooked meatballs to the broth. Ladle it into individual bowls, and top with a drizzle of the chili oil and fresh herbs of your choice.