Chaozhou Beef Meatballs: The most Authentic, Juiciest and Bounciest Beef Balls

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Chaozhou Beef Balls
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Chaozhou Beef Balls

Recipe by chaozhousistersCuisine: Asian, Chinese, Chaozhou, Chiuchow, TeochewDifficulty: Hard
Servings

14

Large Beef Balls
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

Have you watched 'Flavour Origins' on Netflix recently? In season 1, they show all the Chaozhou specialities such as beef meatballs. These beef meatballs are such a huge part of Chaozhou cuisine, so much that sometimes we measure the economy based on the inflation of the price of beef meatballs.

They usually go great in in plain soup or in the Kway Teow Noodle Soup that we previously made. Dipping it in satay sauce adds an extra savoury and spicy kick which is much loved by Chaozhou people.

The Chaozhou people like their beef meatballs firm, bouncy, and juicy. When you bite into it, there are little pockets of soup that flow out. We don't like to put starches into our meatballs like Vietnamese or Thai style meatballs as the meatballs that have starches in them tend to be more soft and less firm, so you will lose that hearty crunch when you take a bite.

One thing to take caution of is speed. This is not the time to take your time, as the baking powder reacts fast, the meat needs to keep its cool temperature and the beef balls need to be cooked quickly to lock-in all its delicious juices.

These beef meatballs turned out perfectly and we can't wait to share the recipe with you!

Ingredients

  • 500 grams of lean ground beef

  • 2 small whole garlics (minced)

  • 1 tsp black pepper

  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 2 tsp baking powder

  • 3 ice cubes with 3 tbsp of water

Directions

  • Place the bowl for the stand mixer and the flat beater into the freezer for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. The beef needs to be kept super cold during this entire process and this will help with that.
  • Peel and mince 2 whole garlics until super fine.
  • Using the back of the knife, pound the ground beef more to make it more fine.
  • Put the ground beef into the stand mixer and mix for 30 seconds at speed 2.
  • Put in the fish sauce, garlic, pepper, salt and mix for 30 seconds at speed 2.
  • Next add 1 tbsp of ice water to the baking powder and then add that to the meat mixture.
  • Add the remaining 2 tbsp of ice water to the meat mixture and beat at speed 2 for 5 more minutes stopping to scrape down the bowl when necessary.
  • Using a large pot, fill 1/4 of the pot and heat the water until you see small bubbles start to form. The water should be steaming but not boiling. Once it reaches this state, turn the heat to low.
  • Prepare a small bowl of water and a metal spoon. Wet your hands to prepare for shaping the meatballs. The water will prevent the meat from sticking.
  • 10. Shape the meatballs with one hand by grabbing a handful and pushing a small ball through the index and thumb (see pictures).
  • 11. Spoon off the ball of meat with the metal spoon and place into the pot of steaming water. Ensure that the water is not boiling as this will cause the meatball to lose it's shape.
  • 12. Repeat this until all the meat mixture is used up.
  • 13. Let the meatballs sit in the water for 5 minutes and then turn the water to medium high to bring it to a small boil.
  • 14. The meatballs will grow to 1.5 it's original size and float to the top when it is done cooking.
  • 15. Dip in satay sauce or enjoy with some noodle soup!