Bola-Bola (Sweet and Sour Meatballs)

This is a very beautiful and colorful dish.  It is a great hit with kids and people who are picky about Asian foods.  This also quick and easy to fix and gets a lot of ooohhhs and ahhhhs, plus it taste fabulous.  You can do the quick version by replacing the home made meatballs with pre-made from the grocery store.  I recommend IKEAs. If those are not available, those from the grocery store works, just make sure you do not get the Italian style.  The seasoning does not work with this dish.  If you have time, home made is the best. I used different color bell peppers, but you can use one color if you prefer.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tblsp corn starch
3 tblsp olive or canola oil
3-4 stalks of celery (sliced diagonally)
4 roma tomatoes (cut in quarters)
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 large bell pepper or 1/2 of 3 different colors (cut in strips)
1 lb meatballs (home made or pre-made)

Meatballs:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 tblsp garlic powder
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 cup olive or canola oil

For meatballs:  combine all the ingredients except for the oil.  Mix well.  Pinch off approximately 1 tblsp and form into a ball in your palm.  Repeat until you have made all the meatballs.  Heat the 1 cup of oil on high in a deep sauce pan. Fry meatballs in batches until brown and done.  Remove from oil and set aside.

In a large pot or dutch oven.  Pour the vinegar, soy sauce, water and sugar.  Allow to simmer until sugar disolves.  Add the meatballs and set temperature to low.   In a separate frying pan, heat 1 tblsp of the oil.  When oil is hot, add onions and celery.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir fry for approximately 2 minutes.  Transfer to pot with meatballs and sauce.  Heat another tblsp of oil in the frying pan.  Add the bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and stir fry until crisp tender for approximately 2 minutes. Transfer to the pot with the meatballs and sauce.  Heat the last tblsp of oil, add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Stir fry until slightly scorched, approximately 1-2 minutes. Transfer to the pot.  Stir the vegetables with the meatball and sauce until all the ingredients are well incorporated.  Increase the heat to allow a low boil.  Place the cornstarch into a small bowl.  Add a little water to make a watery paste.  Make sure the cornstarch and water are mixed well with no lumps.  Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pot directly on the sauce.  Stir well to ensure the cornstarch is well incorporated.  Continue to boil for another 4 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.  Stir occassionally during this process.  Once sauce has thickened, serve over steamed rice and enjoy.  With the sweet and sour sauce, this is great with shrimp fried rice.

Stuffed Eggplant - India Style

My husband and I both love eggplant and I try to find as many ways to prepare it.  I found several recipes for stuffed eggplant, but I found them to be very un-interesting till I found this one.  Of course, had to make it my own by making some adjustments to the ingredients and cooking method. This is really great with rice.  I tried with ground lamb and it was fabulous.  It is also great with ground beef.  So try it both ways and see which one you like the best. 

Remember, nothing is set in stone. Try this recipe and adjust to suit your own taste.

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of canola or vegetable oil
1 medium onion (minced)
1 1/2 tsp ginger pulp/paste (or minced)
2 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp garlic pulp (or minced)
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 large tomato (finely chopped)
1 lb of ground lamb or beef
1 medium green bellpepper (chopped)
1 medium red bellpepper (chopped)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh (save for future use or discard). Make sure you do not remove too close to the bottom skin or the eggplant will trear when you fill it.  Heat the canola oil in a pan and lightly fry the eggplant pieces on both sides.  When the skin is starting to brown (2-3 minutes), remove and place in an ovenproof baking dish.

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and fry the onion until golden brown  Add the ginger, chilli powder, garlic, tumeric, and ground coriander. Stir continuously for approximately 1 minute, do not let spices burn.  Add tomatoes and continue to stir and fry for another 4-5 minutes.  Add ground lamb/beef, season with salt and pepper; continue to stir until meat is brown.  Add the chopped peppers and cilantro. Stir until well mixed.  Remove from heat. 

Spoon mixture into each eggplant shell. Do not worry about overfilling or creating a mound.  Brush the edges and outside of eggplant shell with remaining olive oil.   Cover loosely with foil and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.  During the last 10 minutes of cooking, remove the foil to allow the top to brown. Serve with basmati rice.

Sweet-Spicy Mexican Meatballs

This is a great recipe! I've made this for special ocassions and those potluck lunches at the office.  This is really a very easy dish, but it does take some time since you make your own meatballs.  I have made it with pre-made meatballs and it does work if you want to do that.  The homemade meatballs have more flavor since you add some wonderful spices and raisins.

This is not your everyday Tex-Mex dish. This gives you a glimpse of another part of the Mexican culture.  Serve it with the Cilantro Lime Rice and fried plantains and you have an authentic south of the border menu. 

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of ground beef
1/2 lb of ground pork
1/4 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1 onion (minced)
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 14oz can of tomatoes  (drained and finely chopped)
1 1/4 cup beef bouillon
1-2 tbsp chili powder (if you use 1tbsp, increase paprika by 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
1 tbsp mint (chopped)
2 tbsp of olive or canola oil (plus additional for frying meatballs)
2 sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped in bite-size pieces)
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl mix the pork, beef, tortilla chips, egg, half the onion, half the garlic, cumin, cinnamon and raisins. Mix ingredients well. Using a spoon, separate even amounts of the meat mixture and create into meatballs. In a pan, add enough oil to fry the meatballs.  When the oil is heated, fry the meatballs. Avoid overcrowding as you cook.  Once the meatballs are brown, set them aside.

In a food processor or blender, combine brown sugar, vinegar, tomatoes, bouillon, chilli powder, paprika, and the rest of the onions and garlic. Process until well blended. then add the cilantro and mint.

You can use the same skillet that you fried the meatballs. Use 2 tbsp of oil (remove excess) from the pan. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped sweet potatoes and cook until tender and light golden brown. Add the sauce from the food processor and meatballs.  Cook for approximately 10 minutes until the sauce is hot and the meatballs are heated  through. This gives the flavors a chance to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.

Picadillo

Comfort food. This is what this dish means to my family. It must mean the same to so many different cultures since they have their own version (Spain, Mexico, South America, Philippines, the Caribbean). Another very easy and adaptable recipe. You can serve it over rice or encase it in pastry dough, fry or bake and you have a Latin pastry called "empanada".

Feel free to change it up a bit. It is one of those "can't fail" recipes. That's what I did and came up with our favorite version.

Ingredients:

1 calabasa or pumpkin like squash (i.e. acorn)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 lb of good ground beef

1 onion (minced or chopped)

1 bellpepper (seeded and chopped)

4 garlic cloves (minced)

1 1/2 cups beef broth

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup pimiento stuffed olives (sliced)

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut the squash into bite size pieces; discard seeds. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add ground beef, onion, bellpepper, squash, and garlic. Brown the beef, stirring constantly breaking up the beef. Cook vegetables until softened; remove any excess fat. Add cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook spices until heated. Add beef broth, tomato paste and sugar. Stir constantly until tomato paste disolves; bring to a boil; add raisins and pimiento olives. Reduce the heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for another 15-20 minutes until squash is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Spoon over rice and enjoy.

Note: sweet potato can be substituted for the squash. For a Philippine version use potatoes. For a Caribbean touch, add a 1/4 cup of rum when adding the broth. Any long grain, jasmine or basmati rice works great with this recipe.