Meatballs Over Rice

Hi Everybody! It's time for another wonderful blog post by yours truly. As you can tell by the title of this post and the picture above, it's pretty easy to figure out what this one is all about. The truth is, there is actually more going on behind the scenes than you might believe.

The original title I wanted to use for this post was "Cooking Without Recipes". I was just going to explain how when it comes to hot foods, I usually don't follow recipes and just wing it. I would then list a bunch of tips that help me in the kitchen. Then I remembered that I hate "Tip" blog pages. In my opinion, a lot of Tip pages come off a little preachy. I usually leave a comment on the page like "I've got a tip for you! Go Fuck Yourself!!!"

Plus, I feel like I'm not really good enough to be telling people what they should be doing in the kitchen. The only thing I really suggest is to simply relax and have a little fun with it. If all else fails, just keep it simple.

What I have for you this time around can be enjoyed as a either a light appetizer or a full meal. Just use a smaller portion for the app.

For the rice, I started by sauteing some white onions with yellow and red bell peppers. A little salt and pepper to season.

Sorry for the blurry pics. Anyway, when the veggies cooked down a bit, I added a few tablespoons of Oyster sauce. When it looked like the veggies had soaked up some of that sauce, I added some pre-cooked basmati rice. Stir well and season with a little more salt and pepper. I added cumin as well, to bring a little smokiness to it.

When the rice is almost done, add a couple handfuls of fresh spinach and mix it in. This step should be done right before it hits the plate.

When it comes to the meatballs for this dish, it's really the last part of cooking that is the most important element this time around. Honestly, you can prep the meatballs anyway you like. I kept it pretty simple for the most part. I used ground beef and added Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, hot sauce and five spice powder.

I rounded the meat in to balls and placed them on a baking sheet. The went in to the oven at 375 for about 10-12 minutes.

Now it's time for that last, crucial element with the meatballs. Place some of the meatballs in to a hot pan and pour a little barbecue sauce in the pan. Cook the meatballs in the sauce until the sauce has reduced down a bit and each meatball is well coated.

This time around I used Korean barbecue sauce. For me, the best sauce to use for this is Hoison. The Hoison sauce will reduce and create a sticky, crunchy shell around each meatball. I didn't have any on hand, so I went with the Korean sauce.

From here, all you have to do is plate up.

I added a little cilantro at the end to make it all fancy. Did it work?

And there you have it. There really isn't too much to this dish. Half of it involved left-over rice, and the other half was fuckin' meatballs!

This is the kind of stuff that keeps me interested in cooking. Simple food that can make you smile and fill you up.

Oh yeah, it tasted pretty damn good!

I'm out.