Ssamjang Pork Meatballs
Description: Sweet and spicy ssamjang is a Korean sauce, mostly used for grilled dishes. Made with slow-fermented soybean paste, it’s salty and pungent and adds quite a bit of flavor, perfect to spruce up some ground pork for a quick, weeknight meatball. You can buy it in the Asian grocery section or make your own. Try these meatballs in a lettuce cup with rice and kimchi or served straight-up with some grilled vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1/3 cup ssamjang, store bought or homemade
- 1/4 cup/20 grams panko bread crumbs
- 3 scallions, minced, plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons minced ginger (from one 2-inch piece, no need to peel)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (from 2 to 3 large cloves)
- Kosher salt
- Lettuce, for serving
- Cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the pork, ssamjang, panko, scallions, ginger, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and use your hands to gently mix.
- Shape the meat into 16 balls (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and arrange on a parchment or foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve warm, sprinkled with scallions, in lettuce cups with rice if desired.