Korean Meatball and Rice Bowl

This is such a good dinner and it comes together in no time at all.  Start off by making some rice.  I used sushi rice for this and think it is the best choice as it holds together so well and makes eating this dish easier.

Put some garlic in the bowl of your food processor.  I used 7 cloves.

Add 1 pound of ground beef.

Add 1/3 cup of fresh cilantro.

Add 4 tablespoons of diced ginger.

Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

And 1/2 tablespoon of honey.

Add 2 tablespoons of gochujang paste (Korean red pepper paste).

Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.

Pulse this mixture until it is smooth.  These meatballs have a much finer texture than an Italian meatball.

Use a small ice cream scoop and form the meat into balls.  Place them in a pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake them at 375 degrees for about 23-25 minutes.

I made some Korean marinated cucumbers to serve along with it.  Just mix some rice vinegar with a bit of honey, some gochujang and water. 

Slice the cucumbers and put it all in a jar in the fridge for an hour.  The amounts depend on how much you want to make.

Remove the meatballs from the pan.  Drain off most of the fat and add the remaining juice to a bowl.  Mix in 1/4 C. hoisin sauce, 2 T. soy sauce, 1T. fish sauce, 1/4 C. water and 3 T. gochujang paste.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.

Serve the meatballs over a scoop of rice.

Drizzle with a bit of the sauce and a side of cucumbers.