Thai Green Curry Meatballs
I put these Thai Green Curry Meatballs on the menu nearly a month ago and just kept putting off making them. I couldn’t even tell you why, except I had some vague sense they might not be that great.
But then, last week, I just really needed to make dinner and this was my fastest option. Also my shitake mushrooms were starting to look pretty sad in my fridge and I didn’t want to let them go to waste.
Turned out we all loved these little Thai meatballs. Even Ani ate some rice with a little coating of the sauce and kept opening her mouth like a tiny bird for more.
Eight thumbs up from our home, although Ani would probably need help putting her thumbs up.
thai curry meatballs
Thai Green Curry Meatballs
Thai Green Curry Meatballs -- a quick easy weeknight dinner. These are the best meatballs I've ever made.
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 2 green onions
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 cup oats
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons Thai green curry paste
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ c. chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil plus more if needed
Sauce:
- ½ cup finely chopped onions
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cans 13.5-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 Tablespoons green curry paste
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
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In a food processor, pulse the mushrooms and green onions until they are finely diced. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and pulse until combined.
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In a large skillet or dutch oven, warm the oil over medium heat. Scoop the meatball mixture in balls in a single layer onto the skillet (I used a little cookie scoop, but you could just dump them in little piles with a spoon, if you'd prefer).
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Let them cook until the bottoms have browned, about 3-5 minutes. Flip them over and let the other side cook until browned. They don't need to be cooked all the way through.
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With a spatula remove all the meatballs from the pan and put on a plate. Set aside.
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Add more oil if needed (I added about 1 Tablespoon more) and stir in onions and garlic. Cook about 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and green curry paste, scraping the bottom of the pan to pull up any browned bits. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Pour slowly into the sauce, whisking to combine.
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Add the meatballs back to the sauce and let cook until the sauce comes to a boil and meatballs are cooked through. Salt to taste.
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Serve over rice.
Recipe Notes
(adapted from Minnesota Monthly)
These look so delicious! I think I will be trying them this week :)You always have such great recipes.
This recipe is always a hit at my house. Coconut milk? Curry? Meatballs? Rice? Yes, please. I like your idea to add oats to the meatballs. I usually also make the dipping sauce in the original recipe and spoon some of that over the meatballs before I put them on our plates. Yum. I've seen my share of Asian dipping sauces in the last seven years, and this one is a keeper recipe.
These sound so good! Do you think they'd still be good without the mushrooms? I have a serious aversion to mushrooms, but everything else makes me want to whip them up tonight!
I didn't notice a mushroom flavor, so I think it's mostly just to add bulk to the meatballs. I'd just use an extra 1/4 of oats, probably. Hope it turns out!
I am trying this recipe today, but when do you use lime juice?
It's in the sauce part of the recipe, not the meatballs 🙂
Um, yes, I'm totally making these.
Made this last night, and it was SO GOOD! My husband even went back for seconds and commented multiple times how delicious it was. Yay! Quick question though: Is there a way to keep the meatballs from crumbling/falling apart when flipping them? It's possible I'm just inept at meatball construction, but by the time I flipped them, took them out of the pan, and put them back in, I ended up with more of a "green curry meat sauce" than actual meatballs in a curry sauce. The flavor was still incredible, don't worry!
My family enjoyed this meal. I served it over rice with fresh steamed veggies. A few comments that would help other chefs. 1) Took me about twice as long as the recipe says but that’s not usual for me. 2) The meatball ingredients lists coconut oil but only after I melted the oil and mixed it into the meatball ingredients did I realize the oil was for frying. It would be helpful to differentiate that. 3) Lastly the sauce lists lime juice but the recipe doesn’t mention where to add that. I just added it at the end. Overall it was a hit.