Description
Golden brown chicken meatballs cozied up next to fixings like cucumbers, shallots, kewpie mayo, mint, a bit of chili crisp*, and some fresh cilantro to make the ultimate chicken sando!
Ingredients
Ginger Chicken Meatballs:
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 serrano pepper, stem removed
- one 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
- a bunch of fresh cilantro
- 3 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- pinch of salt
For serving:
- 4 pieces soft bread – either soft French bread or flatbread like pita or naan
- 1/2 cup mayo or kewpie*
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1 sliced shallot or red onion
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- 1/4 cup mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons chili crisp* or sriracha
Instructions
- Blitz garlic, serrano pepper, a bunch of fresh cilantro, and a piece of ginger in a small chopper or food processor until minced.
- Add mixture to a large bowl. Mix with ground chicken, fish sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Form into 12 meatballs – they will be wet but that’s okay. The shape doesn’t need to be perfect! (See Note 1 below if your mixture is too wet to form into meatballs.)
- In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and let them begin to cook.
- Add 2 tablespoons water; it will sizzle, so wear an apron and have your lid ready! Put the lid on the pan and let the meatballs cook for a few minutes. Uncover, flip, and repeat. Within about 10 minutes, the meatballs should be cooked through, tender, and nicely golden brown.
- To serve, warm the bread so it’s nice and soft. Shmear with mayo, top with meatballs, sliced cucumber, sliced shallot, cilantro and mint, and a drizzle of chili crisp. Messy, saucy, and mind-blowingly delicious.
Notes
Note 1: The water content of ground chicken can vary. If your mixture is too wet and difficult to form into meatballs, trying adding a little more cornstarch or adding panko in the mix.
Sometimes it helps to cut the meatballs in half for layering on the sandwiches! And sometimes you can just go big and messy and not worry about it!
When I use naan (as pictured), I just use half of the naan per person, and then fold it in half almost like a quesadilla or more of a flat sandwich.
Nutrition information is for meatballs only.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Pan Fry
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Keywords: chicken sandwich, ginger meatballs, meatball sandwich
