Beef Meatballs with Chinese Five Spice, Snow Peas & Jasmine Rice

Prepare Ingredients:

Wash the fresh produce. Trim ends and remove the thin string from the snow peas. Peel and mince garlic and ginger. Cut off and discard the root ends of the spring onion; thinly slice, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Pick the coriander leaves; discarding stems.

Cook Rice:

In a medium pot, bring 1⅓ cup water to a boil. Stir in the rice; cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed. Taste the rice; if it is still too firm, add a few more tablespoons of water. Cover the pot and let the rice absorb the water off the heat. Fluff the finished rice with a fork.

Cook Aromatics:

While the rice cooks, in a large non-stick pan, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add the white bottoms of the spring onion, half the garlic and half the ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Transfer to a large bowl. Wipe out the pan.

Form & Brown Meatballs:

Add the breadcrumbs, beef mince and five-spice to the bowl of cooked aromatics; season with salt and pepper. Mix until just combined. Using your hands, form the mixture into about 8 or 9 meatballs. In the same pan, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add the meatballs. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 6 minutes, or until browned on all sides and cooked through. Turn off the heat. Carefully drain off and discard drippings.

Finish Meatballs:

Add the black bean sauce, soy sauce and ¼ cup of water to the pan of browned meatballs; stir to combine. Cook on medium-high, occasionally spooning the sauce over the meatballs, 3 to 5 minutes, or until sauce is slightly reduced in volume and the meatballs are thoroughly coated. Set aside meatballs. Wipe out the pan.

You Plate It:

In the same pan, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add the snow peas and remaining garlic and ginger; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish the finished meatballs and cooked rice with the green tops of the spring onion. Garnish the meatballs with the coriander and half the sesame seeds. Garnish the cooked snow peas with the remaining sesame seeds. Enjoy!