Ground Chicken Meatballs in Red Curry Sauce

I love a spicy red curry and these Ground Chicken Meatballs are perfect for simmering in this sweet, tart, and spicy sauce. This recipe brings a restaurant favorite home. But in a simple way, you could make it any night of the week.

Ingredients

This ingredient list comes in two parts and it is a little longer than most I share. But it takes a few more items to build the layers of flavor that make this recipe great.

The first batch of ingredients is for making the meatballs. But the good news is many of them you will use again to make the sauce, so they are good investments for your pantry.

The one thing I always have to hunt down and end up ordering on amazon is the red curry paste. But it is inexpensive and a little goes a long way. So just buy the little tub.

When it comes to the sauce, as mentioned before, you will see some repeat ingredients. With the addition of some veggies and coconut milk to enhance the sauce.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Method

I start by making the meatballs. Place all the ingredients for them into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a smooth mixture forms.

Then scoop out the meatballs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and form them into perfect meatballs between oiled hands. Bake until browned lightly.

Make the sauce while the meatballs bake. Start by cooking the onions and mushrooms in the bottom of a large pot until browned. Then add in the asparagus and curry paste and cook until the curry is fragrant. Add in the liquid ingredients and bring to a boil, then add the cooked meatballs to the pot.

Serve the meatballs with a healthy ladle of the sauce over some rice noodles, or rice if you prefer. Top with green onions, cilantro, and some chopped peanuts.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 8 Servings

Ground Chicken Meatballs in Red Curry Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

I love a spicy red curry and these Ground Chicken Meatballs are perfect for simmering in this sweet, tart, and spicy sauce. This recipe brings a restaurant favorite home.

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Ingredients

for the meatballs:

• 2 pounds Chicken Breasts, cut into rough chunks
• 2 tablespoons fresh Basil Leaves, torn
• 3-6 Garlic cloves
• 4 Green Onions, rough chopped
• 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Corn Starch
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Red Curry Pastes
• 1-2 tablespoons Olive Oil

for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 1 pound Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 pound Asparagus, chopped
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 ½ tablespoons Red Curry Paste
• 2, 14-ounce cans Coconut Cream
• ⅛ cup fresh Lime Juice
• 2 teaspoons Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter
• 2 tablespoon Honey
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• ½ cup Cilantro, thinly sliced for garnish
• 1 cup Roasted Peanuts, chopped for garnish
• Steamed Rice or Cooked Glass Noodles, for serving
• Lime Wedges, for serving

Instructions

for the meatballs:

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
2. Place all the meatball ingredients (except the olive oil) into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the processor until everything is well combined, yet small chunks remain. It should be smooth, but not a paste.
3. Portion the mixture out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, into 2 tablespoon size balls, about 30 or so. Roll the balls between olive-oiled hands to smooth them out.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 165˚F.
5. Remove and set aside until ready to place in the sauce.

for the sauce:

1. In a large skillet or 5-quart Dutch oven, heated over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the onion, mushrooms, and to the pan. Cook unit the mushroom release their water and brown evenly.
2. Add the asparagus and garlic to the pan and cook 2 minutes longer. Stirring often.
3. Press the curry paste into the pan, breaking it up a little in any liquid or oil left in the bottom of the pan.
4. Whisk in the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, honey, peanut butter, salt, and pepper, and bring the sauce to a boil so the curry paste becomes fully incorporated and the sauce gets nice and red.
5. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer them in it for 10-15 minutes.
6. Serve over steamed rice, or glass noodles with a generous helping of sauce and garnish with the cilantro.

Notes

Notes & Tips

Depending on how spicy you like your curry, you can use more or less curry paste. Start with a small amount, because it can get really spicy, FAST! Taste the sauce after it simmers for a few minutes and add more if you can take more heat.

The meatballs can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer or fridge till needed. To get ahead, you could always make the meatballs the night before you plan on eating them. If you want to keep them longer than a day, freeze them until needed. Then fully thaw and bake per directions.

When you portion out the meatballs, rolling them between oiled hands serves two purposes, so don't skip it. First, it keeps the meat from sticking to your hands, second, it adds a layer of oil to the outside of them to help brown them when cooking.

I find it important to use coconut cream for this sauce. Not just coconut milk. You want the sauce to get thick quickly, and using just milk means it needs to simmer too long. The asparagus will turn to mush by the time the sauce gets thick, so be sure to use cream.

Substitutions

If you don't have fish sauce on hand or don't like it, a great swap for it is Worchestershire sauce.

If you are not a mushroom lover, feel free to leave them out, no swap, just omit them if they aren't your thing.

Also, if you have a peanut allergy, you can omit the peanut butter and leave off the chopped peanuts at the end. That is a personal addition for me, I like my curry with a hint of peanut.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste, Authentic Thai Red Curry Paste For Thai Curries And Other Dishes, Aromatic Blend Of Herbs, Spices And Shrimp Paste, No MSG, Preservatives Or Artificial Coloring (14oz Tub)
• 
  STAUB Cast Iron Round Cocotte, 7-quart, Burnt Orange
• 
  Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY14-Cup 14 Cup Food Processor, Silver
• 
  John Boos MPL1812125G Chop-N-Slice Select Maple Edge Grain Cutting Board, 18 Inches x 12 Inches x 1.25 Inches
• 
  Shun Classic 7" Hollow Ground Santoku Knife w/Custom Engraving

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 888Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 1065mgCarbohydrates: 86gFiber: 5gSugar: 63gProtein: 47g

This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.

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