About the Recipe
Niku dango (literally "meat balls") have a long history in Japan. "Dango" were originally not made of meat nut of nuts and ground barley. Using pork is a more recent development said to have started in the early twentieth century. Like a lot of Japanese grilled foods, its the sauce that is the key to success - in this case, the sauce is a sweet spy blend this is the perfect complement for the rich savoury flavours of the pork. As you might imagine, Niku Dango are also very good prepared on skewers and grilled over a barbecue - just remember to keep the balls well brushed with oil while they are grilling over the coals.
Ingredients
for the meat balls:
300g pork mince
60g onion, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cornflour
1 small egg, beaten
for the sauce:
1 tbsp water
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
some veg oil for shallow frying
Preparation
to make the meat balls:
mix the minced pork, onion and salt well in a bowl
add the cornflour and mix again
add the egg and mix one more time
oil your hands and form the pork mixture into 15-18 meat balls
fill a frying pan with 5mm of veg oil and fry the meat balls for 2-3 mins
turn the balls over and fry for another 2-3 mins - make sure they are cooked well but don't allow them to burn
remove the balls to some kitchen paper
to make the sauce;
put the brown sugar, mirin, soy sauce, water & cornflour in a pan and mix
add the meat balls and coat with the sauce
your "niku dango" are ready - serve with bowls of Japanese rice