Pork Meatballs in a Hoisin Barbecue Sauce

Inspired by my daughter mentioning a dinner of pork meatballs and hoisin sauce, this was sweet and sour, spicy and rich and made enough for two meals.

It also used the opened can of tomato paste, the last of the jar of hoisin sauce, the last of the tamari, some chopped toasted peanuts and the ground pork that has been in the freezer for a couple of months. All in all, a success!

The barbecue sauce has Asian as well as western influences, is quick and easy to make and freezes well. So making a large batch is a no brainer for me. I added ginger and sesame oil to the meatballs to bring more of the Asian flavours through, and serving it on the steam fried noodles gave the sauce something to soak into.

To make the sauce, cook in a bit of olive oil until soft:

1/2 cup diced onion
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

Add the remaining ingredients:

2/3 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
5 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin




Simmer the sauce while you make the meatballs.

In a large bowl, combine:

1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix in:

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

Mix with your hands until well combined. If the mixture is too wet and does not hold together when you form a ball, add more breadcrumbs.

Form the meat mixture into 16 meatballs.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a wide, shallow sided pan.

Add the meatballs and brown quickly on all sides.

Add the sauce to the pan, cover and simmer.

The meatballs should be fully cooked after about 30 minutes. The sauce will have thinned down from the steam in the pan, as well as the meat juices released from the pork.

Skim any excess fat from the top before serving.






I served the meatballs on a bed of steam fried noodles and green beans, garnished with chopped green onions and peanuts.

• The meatballs can be made with any ground meat...beef, chicken, turkey. The amount of breadcrumbs may differ, as some of the meats have more moisture. I always start with 2/3 cup and add more a bit at a time if needed.
• The meatballs can be made ahead...refrigerate for a day, or freeze for another time.
• Cilantro can be used instead of, or as well as, the parsley if you have some.
• Add chili flakes to spice it up a bit.
• The sauce can be used with burgers, on pizza, in stir fry, on meatloaf, or it can be used to braise beef, pork or chicken (add some chicken or beef stock to thin it down).
• Use rice wine vinegar instead of apple cider.
• Hoisin sauce is very sweet, so feel free to cut the amount of honey added. You can always add some in at the end if you need to.