Chicken Meatballs, Satay Sauce & Mango Salad Over Coconut Rice

Today is the day when 3 months ago in April, I couldn’t wait for it to come. The day Muslims all over the world celebrate the end of their long one month of fasting. The day they celebrate Eid… or known as Hari Raya in Malaysia.

If I was in Malaysia right now, I’d be up and about going from house to house visiting my Muslim friends, having good laughs and enjoying scrumptious food together.

If I could make one wish today, I wish for absolute elimination of racial animosity, prejudice and discrimination. Wishful thinking, Mr. V would say. Indeed it is. Literally.

When I was 5, my kindergarten teacher asked me what race I was. My answer to her was English. When I said English, I didn’t mean British. What I meant was that I spoke English. So I’m English. My teacher promptly corrected me and told me that I was Chinese. I insisted I wasn’t.

She eventually told my mom that I didn’t know what race I was. Like it was a problem. My mom did the most logical thing any mom would do. She laughed.

I suppose I can think of this as the start of the infiltration of the idea of race as human classification to my head.

Humanity has spent a great deal of time and effort looking for an illusive basis for classifying humans and then perpetuating them. Be it the color of the skin, language you speak, a northerner, a southerner, religion, how much money you earn, your age and race. Mr. V once told me, race is man-made. It’s not biological. It is a social invention created by man out of greed, power, status and wealth.

I grew up with two distinct treatments of race. One coming from society. The other from the Baha’i Faith – the religion I practice.

In society, I felt trapped by government policies (be it in education or finance or housing) favoring the Malay majority. I was surrounded by racial politics each looking out for its own kind. I had to witness clashes between different race (and religion) when attempting to uphold their own religious beliefs or practices. Worse off, I often faced racial discrimination in the community, within neighborhoods, among friends and even family.

In the Baha’i Faith, I was taught that humanity is one. That ‘we are flowers of one garden”. We were each created unique yet equally important. We each have different talents and potentials and roles to better this world. Like the cell in our body, each is different on its own but together, they work in harmony for the bigger goal which is to keep the organs and body functioning. Each does not compete with one another, but rather rely on the process of giving and receiving.

I believe that I could have easily become a racist but since a child, I was protected. My heart was protected. Protection in a way where I was instilled a conviction, a conscious belief that all are one. I was taught the view of one world civilization. It was ingrained in me to regard and treat everyone with love and respect.

I think that in order for my wish to come true, we have to look to the source – the human heart. Inculcating principles of the oneness of mankind and education on unity, equality and true co-operation. For what lies in the heart is what lies in the mind and reflected through our beliefs, attitudes and actions. And this starts with you and me. With our children. This starts in the family, then neighborhoods, communities, cities, countries and finally the whole world.

Yes, big dreams. It’s a big wish after all.

Now, for the big bowl of yumminess.

I thought I’d go with some fusion food as a reflection of the beauty of diversity in this world we live in.

Instead of going the traditional route, I mixed and matched and fusion-ized some traditional ideas with some not so traditional ones. This dish is also inspired by my meal eaten at Shophouse. It was actually Mr.V’s meal but I took one bite and he lost his meal. To me.

Juicy and springy chicken meatballs seared with a delicious glaze topped with fragrant satay sauce and a spicy, tangy mango salad all over coconut oil infused rice. Heaven in a bowl.

Note: Meatballs here aren’t like the typical burgers or Italian meatballs where they’re supposed to be tender. Instead, best is they’re springy or bouncy. Think pho meatballs. So, over handling the meat here is acceptable.

Also, if you haven’t already, check out my last post Asian Slaw with Peanut-Ginger Dressing. Amazingly delicious fusion of Western & Asian flavors. The dressing is the real hero. Sweet, savory & a lil tang with peanut butter & ginger umami.

 

---

 

Chicken Meatballs, Satay Sauce & Mango Salad Over Coconut Rice        Serves 6

what you need:

Rice:
2 cups Jasmine rice (or other long grain rice)
Water
1 1/2 tbs coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt

Chicken Meatballs:                                Makes about 30 2″ meatballs
2 lb ground chicken (see note 2)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tbs fish sauce
1 1/2 tbs oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbs baking powder
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 – 1 cup ice cold water (see note 3)
1/4 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 tsp ginger, finely minced

Chicken meatball glaze:
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tbs fish sauce
1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs sugar
3 tsp oil
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper

Satay Sauce, click here for recipe

Mango Salad:
2 green mango, julienned (see notes 4)
2 small carrots, julienned
1 Persian cucumber, julienned
2 shallots, finely sliced
2 red chili or 5 Thai bird’s eye chili, sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbs peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
2 tsp fried dried shrimps, roughly pounded (optional)
4 tbs lime juice
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

directions:

Rice

Add 2 cups of rice (or 3 small rice cooker cups) and enough water to cook the rice. Add the coconut oil and salt. Cook the rice. If you have screw pine leaves (pandan), by all means, add them in.

Making Meatballs

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the ground meat until it becomes a very smooth and sticky meat paste. We’re trying to make it even more processed than regular ground meat.

*If using a Vitamix, turn on the machine to variable 3, add 1 cup of meat little by little. Secure the lid and tamper. Turn to variable 7 and let blend while holding on to the tamper. Do not move the tamper. Blend until smooth. Remove the meat and place it in a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining ground meat.

2. Add the remaining ingredients for the meatballs to the meat paste. As you mix, you’ll see that the meat will start to absorb the water. It will be a slightly loose consistency. Once combined well, cover and freeze the meat for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight. This helps to firm up the meat paste and also helps in the springy texture of the meatballs.

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiled, turn the heat off.

4. With your left hand, grab almost a handful of meat paste. Compact it to remove any trapped air. It will be sticky and messy. Don’t worry. Use a spoon to aid with compacting. Make a fist, squeeze the paste in order that it comes out through the top. Using a damp spoon, scoop out the paste and carefully drop into the hot water. Once you add a couple of meatballs into the pot, turn on the fire to low to medium low. We want the water as hot as possible without it bubbling so that meatballs do not fall apart.

5. Once there’s a layer of meatballs, stop and place the remaining meat paste into the freezer while the ones in the pot cooks. The meatballs in the pot will first sink and then start to float.

6. Once the meatballs float, let it cook a couple more minutes. Total cooking time is about 7-8 minutes. Longer for bigger meatballs, shorter for smaller meatballs. Cut open one ball to see if it’s cooked inside. If should be firm to touch and ‘not pink’ in the center.

7. Once the meatballs are cooked, use a slotted spoon and remove them. Dunk them in ice cold water. Let sit in cold water for 1-2 minutes and then remove. Cold water helps firm the meatballs, keep their shape and also in maintaining its springy texture.

8. Bring the pot of water to boil again before repeating with the next batch of meat paste. Add more ice to the cold water. Make sure it’s cold.

Searing Meatballs

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatball glaze. Coat the cooked meatball well with the glaze.

2. Over medium heat, add a thin coat of oil and sear the meatballs until brown or charred to your liking.

Mango Kerabu Salad

1. In a large bowl, add the mango, carrot, cucumber, shallots, chili, cilantro, peanut and dried shrimps.

2. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients to make the dressing.

3. Add the dressing to the large bowl. Toss to combine.

Assembling

1. Top coconut rice with seared chicken meatballs. Drizzle satay sauce and serve with mango kerabu salad.

Notes:

1. Adding coconut oil to rice is a great way to infuse rice with coconut flavor without the extra calories like when using coconut milk. Great trick, mom!

2. I used ground meat for convenience. Use whole meat if you want to. Also, you can even beef or pork (sorry Muslim folks) or you can even use a combination of any.

3. Less water yields firmer meatballs while more water yields softer meatballs. It’s personal preference.

4. I bought green mangoes yet they still turned out too ripe for the salad. That explains the color of the mangoes. If you like these kinds, stick to it. Or else, get super green (not fully ripe) mangoes.