Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice... and a favorite food tip!

I was drawn to this recipe as soon as I first set eyes on it. I couldn't wait to give it a try, so I made it the very next night and fell in love. These are some tasty, flavor-packed meatballs folks. Good stuff! The meatballs are loaded with fun flavors like green onion, cilantro, soy sauce or fish sauce, Sriracha, garlic and just a hint of sugar. Yum! Just thinking about them has me craving them all over again.

I had to share the picture above so you could see all the flavors going into the meatballs above. If you don't care for ground turkey, you can also use ground pork.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice
Everyday Food Issue 77, page 14
Serves 4
Coarse salt
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 carrot, shredded
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1-1/2 pounds ground dark meat turkey or ground pork (I used only one pound)
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 teaspoons fish sauce (I substituted soy sauce)
4 teaspoons hot-pepper sauce (preferably Sriracha)
4 teaspoons sguar
1 large garlic clove, minced (I used 2 good-sized cloves)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (will not need if you bake your meatballs)
lime wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 450F. In a medium saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice, stir, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and top with carrot. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then stir in carrot and fluff rice with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, scallion whites, cilantro, fish/soy sauce, hot-pepper sauce, sugar, garlic and 1-1/2 teaspoon salt. Gently mix to combine and form 12 meatballs (I got about 17 meatballs).

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. In batches, brown meatballs on all sides, 10 minutes total (add up to 1 tsp. oil as needed). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until cooked through, 10 minutes. Serve meatballs with rice, scallion greens, and lime wedges. (NOTE: I baked my meatballs on a lightly oiled baking sheet at 350F for about 25 minutes)

Notes/Results: Before I called everyone to dinner, I grabbed a meatball off the tray and gave it a try. It was so good that I snuck another one. I started to have thoughts of running away with the tray, but thought better of it. Saying that,these meatballs would be great served on their own, with or without a dipping sauce. They also made for a wonderful meal with the rice. One more reason why Everyday Food by Martha Stewart is my absolute favorite cooking magazine.
Favorite Food Tip: Maybe you've heard this one before, maybe you haven't. Either way, I think it's really cool. Did you know that green onions can regenerate if you put them in a glass of water? I just learned this tip about a month ago and think it's the coolest thing. After cutting off the green tops, just place the white stems in a glass/jar of water and place on your windowsill. Within a day you will notice quite a bit of green growing from the tops of the stems. The green portion grows at about the rate of almost an inch per day. In less than one week, your green onions in the jar will look just like the ones at the store. Call me silly, but I get a big kick out of that. You can continue to cut them back and do this about 4-5 more times. After about the 4th cut, the green portion starts to get a bit soft and it's time to toss them out and start over. Green onions are inexpensive and all, but it really is fun to watch them regenerate on your windowsill. Best of all, it takes little to no effort and it's nice to always have a bit of green to add to your dishes!