Simple, flavourful and oozing all kinds of sweet and spicy flavours, these Sticky Thai Chicken Meatballs are perfect for dinner tonight.
Sticky Thai Chicken Meatballs
Sticky, sweet and spicy are a great way to describe these chicken meatballs when served with the glaze. They are loaded with flavours from the fish sauce, shrimp paste, fresh herbs and lime zest.
They are still tasty on their own for those who prefer simple flavours, or kick it up a notch and add the sweet and spicy glaze lightly drizzled on top for some extra wow factor.
The Meatballs
We developed the flavours of the meatballs after making them a few times and using a few traditional Thai ingredients like fish sauce, chili, lime, and garlic, plus fresh cilantro and mint. Shrimp paste was added for another hit of umami as we already had it in the refrigerator.
With so much flavour coming from the meatballs and the glaze itself, salt and pepper is not needed.
The Glaze
Our finger licking good glaze was created following similar instructions for a chicken wings recipe made earlier this year. This glaze touches on salty, sweet and spicy.
We recommend you play with your glaze as soy sauce can be salty so perhaps start with less soy sauce.
Four of us tried the glaze and we each tasted something different. My daughter thought salty, my son spicy, I got sweet and then my daughter got spicy for a second flavour. Both my husband and I liked the salty flavour (when tasting out of the pot) and found it lightened up when drizzled on the meatballs and the rice noodles.
Enjoy these meatballs served with rice or vermicelli noodles in a bowl, or lettuce cup.
If you enjoy this recipe, check out some of these favourites:
- Vietnamese Pork Meatball Banh Mi
- Thai Salad with Jalapeno and Mint
- Banh Mi Sliders
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad Bowl
- Asian Turkey (or chicken) Slaw
If you made this recipe tag Wanda Baker on Instagram and hashtag it #bakersbeans or #wandabaker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground chicken
- 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 lime zested
- 1/2 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh mint chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs not seasoned
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
Honey Glaze
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tsp sambel oelek
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 lime juiced
Supporting Cast
- 1 package rice noodles cooked per package instructions
- 1 head boston lettuce, separated into leaves
- 2 carrots, grated
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
- 2 red thai chili sliced thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil.
- Combine chicken through fish sauce in a bowl and gently well. Roll into walnut sized meatballs and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the meatballs over and cook another 8 minutes until done. Place on a platter and cover with tin foil until ready to serve.
Make the Glaze
- In a small sauce pan over medium high heat mix together soy sauce, honey, sambel, fish sauce and lime juice. Simmer for about 4-6 minutes or until glaze thickens slightly. Taste and adjust if necessary. Set aside until ready to use.
- Prepare rice noodles as directed on package. Pour into a bowl until ready to serve.
- Put boston lettuce leaves, grated carrots, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, and red thai chili in separate bowls served family style. Drizzle the glaze on the meatballs and rice noodles and serve.
Yummy! Just a question. How spicy do the meatballs go? My kids aren’t big fans of too spicy and I remember some Thai dishes have a good amount of spice with them.
So odd I responded to your question and the response has disappeared. The spice is in the glaze. Taste it first, mix a wee bit in and serve the rest on the side. Or if really spice sensitive serve glaze on the side and let everyone add their own!
We made this on the weekend and they were devoured. Great recipe!
These meatballs are amazing! Such great flavor!
Oh my goodness! I’ve had 2 breakfasts and a dessert after breakfast and you have me HUNGRY and DROOLING looking at these! Cannot wait to try these!
Easy enough and who doesn’t love Thai flavors? I could eat these every week! Thanks for sharing 🙂
My partner saw this recipe and forwarded it to me asking if I could make it for dinner soon. He’s so excited to try these!
These look so tasty and delicious! My family and I are going to love this recipe! Can’t wait to make these!