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–+ servings
A bowl of white rice topped with Five Spice Pork Meatballs, steamed broccoli, sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and a kimchi mayo sauce.

Five Spice Pork Meatballs with Rice and Kimchi Mayo

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Recipe video above. These five spice pork meatballs are some of the most flavorful meatballs, featuring Chinese 5 spice powder, cilantro, ginger, and sesame oil. If you're not a cilantro fan, you can replace it with parsley, which will add moisture without the cilantro flavor.

Ingredients

The Meatballs

For serving

Instructions 

  • Place one oven rack 4 inches from the heat source and one in the top third of your oven. Then, preheat your oven to broil. In a large bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients.
    1 ½ lb ground pork, ½ cup fine breadcrumbs, ½ cup finely minced cilantro, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger, 2 teaspoons five spice, 2 green onions, 2 cloves garlic, 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
    image for recipe instruction: A glass bowl contains ground meat for pork meatballs, minced garlic, chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, an egg, and seasonings—perfect for crafting flavorful spice meatballs on a white marble surface.
  • Roll into golf ball-sized balls and place them on a baking sheet. See notes.
    image for recipe instruction: A metal baking sheet holds eleven evenly spaced, uncooked Five Spice Pork Meatballs on a white marble surface.
  • Broil the meatballs for 8-10 minutes, until the tops have turned beautifully dark brown.
    image for recipe instruction: A baking sheet with twelve evenly spaced five spice pork meatballs sits on a white marble surface.
  • Move the baking sheet to the lower oven rack and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue to bake the meatballs for another 10-12 minutes, until they are fully cooked.
    image for recipe instruction: A baking tray with ten cooked 5 Spice Pork Meatballs evenly spaced on it, set on a white marble surface.
  • Serve the meatballs over rice with broccoli on the side, a little kimchi mayo, and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
    Steamed or sauteed broccoli, White rice, Kimchi mayo, Toasted sesame seeds
    image for recipe instruction: A white bowl filled with fluffy white rice, 5 Spice Pork Meatballs topped with sesame seeds, and steamed broccoli, viewed from above on a white marble surface.

Notes

Forming meatballs: Using a medium-sized cookie scoop to portion the meat and then giving the balls a quick roll with your hands is by far the easiest and fastest way to make the meatballs. 
Cooking the meatballs: Quickly broiling and then baking is my new favorite method for cooking meatballs. Don't rush the broiling step, as this is what develops the beautiful crust, similar to what you get when pan-frying meatballs. Lowering the baking sheet allows the meatballs to finish cooking without burning.
Serving: 1 = ¼ of the meatballs, Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 44g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 19g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 170mg, Sodium: 524mg, Potassium: 621mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 223IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 3mg