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These Mala Spiced Meatballs are juicy, tender, flavour-packed and tossed in the most irresistible sweet, sticky & spicy glaze. Served with lots of crunchy snow peas over a bed of steamed rice, they’re perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or meal prep for the week. You need only a handful of ingredients, they’re gluten-free and everything comes together in under 30 minutes in a single pan.
What You Need for Mala Spiced Meatballs
- Ground Beef: For best texture and flavour, I recommend using a medium-fat ground beef (80/20). You can certainly use lean or extra lean ground beef (90/10 or 95/5) but the meatballs will be much less juicy once cooked. You can also substitute lamb, pork or a combination of beef, lamb and pork, to bring the total to 1.5 pounds.
- Fly By Jing: The real stars of the show in this recipe are the Fly By Jing Mala Spice Mix and Sichuan Chili Crisp. They add a crazy amount of flavour, aroma, umami and that tongue-tingling sensation from the Sichuan peppercorns. They’re gluten-free and made with all-natural, non-GMO ingredients without preservatives. Seriously addictive!
If you want to try them, visit FlyByJing.com and save 15% OFF your order with code PRIMAL15. - Green Onion: Be sure to thinly slice and separate the white and green parts. The white parts will go into the Mala Spiced Meatballs and the green parts will be reserved for garnish.
- Fresh Garlic and Ginger: The meatballs get an extra kick of flavour thanks to some finely chopped garlic and ginger.
- Almond Flour: Try adding some almond flour to the meatballs to make them nice and soft. It’s an ideal breadcrumb substitute for anyone avoiding gluten or wheat.
- Egg: You need only one egg for around 1.5 pounds of ground beef. It really only serves as a binder to help everything come together. If you have an egg allergy in the family, you can omit it.
- Snow Peas: I love to add a couple of big handfuls of snow peas to the meatballs as they get tossed in the sweet and sticky glaze. They cook super quick and add a beautiful texture and colour to the dish. You can substitute snap peas, baby bok choy or broccoli florets.
- Coconut Aminos: The body of the Sichuan Chili Crisp glaze is made with coconut aminos. This naturally gluten-free sauce is the perfect soy sauce substitute. It’s much less salty and slightly sweet, which I actually prefer, and reduces down to a thick and syrupy glaze.
- Rice Vinegar: To help balance some of the sweetness in the glaze and cut through the fattiness of the beef, add a splash of rice vinegar.
- Sesame Oil: This is a potent and intensely flavoured oil so always add a little at a time and taste as you go.
Mala Spiced Meatballs with Sichuan Chili Glaze
These Mala Spiced Meatballs are juicy, tender, flavor-packed and tossed in the most irresistible sweet, sticky & spicy glaze.
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground beef, preferably 80/20
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced, green and white parts separated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon Fly By Jing Mala Spice Mix
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 cup coconut aminos
- 2 tabelspoons Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¾ pound snow peas
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the beef, white parts of the green onion, garlic, ginger, Mala Spice Mix, almond flour and egg. Using your hands, mix until combined. Form into equal-sized, small meatballs, roughly the size of golf balls, and transfer to a tray.
- Preheat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the avocado oil and heat until shimmering. Add the meatballs and cook until browned, around 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until browned, around 4 more minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a bowl and discard all of the rendered fat.
- Wipe the pan clean and return it to a medium heat. Add the coconut aminos, Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp, rice vinegar, honey and sesame oil. Cook, stirring, until the sauce has reduced by ¼ in volume, around 3 minutes. Return the meatballs to the pan along with the snow peas. Toss everything to coat and cook until the snow peas are slightly softened but still crisp, around 3 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with sesame seeds and reserved green parts of the green onions. Serve with steamed rice, if desired.
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About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
This is a family favorite! My teen boys like to have a second dinner most nights and my husband offices from home so I do a lot of meal prep on Sundays. This one is in heavy rotation, they request it every week! The flavors are so good, I use the spicy version of Fly By Jing…I don’t have the dry fly by jing mix (not my fave flavors) so just add some salt, pepper, white pepper, and sichuan peppercorns to the meat mixture. I am sure it ie great with the mix but honestly the rets of the recipe has so much flavor we don’t think we are missing out! The meatballs reheat great, I just make individual bowls on top of rice and they are ready to heat.