This recipe is courtesy of our friend Olivia at Liv In The Kitchen, a Minnesota food blog dedicated to flavorful, easy recipes supporting a healthy lifestyle.
These Chinese-inspired turkey meatballs are packed with flavor, aromatics, and dare I say it…umami. They make for a great weekend dinner or a freezer-friendly meal prep option for the busy week ahead.
Five Spice Turkey Meatballs with Shiitake Mushroom
Makes 18-20 meatballs
Ingredients
3 slices of bacon
1/2# R&R Cultivation shiitake mushrooms
1# ground turkey
1/2 cup unsweetened puffed brown rice cereal or cooked brown rice
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 inch grated ginger
1 clove grated garlic
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
For serving: pickled cucumbers, mixed greens, and mango salsa for serving
Steps
In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook your bacon until crispy, flipping halfway
through – about 8 to 10 minutes total. While the bacon is cooking, preheat your oven to 400° and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Clean your mushrooms with a damp paper towel if they appear dirty. Remove the tough stems and discard. Add the shiitake mushroom caps to a food processor and pulse until it resembles the size of lentils. If you do not own a food processor or wish to keep it in storage (I don’t blame you), spend some time chopping them up to a similar consistency.
Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Lower the heat to medium and cook your mushrooms until browned and tender, about 7 minutes. At the end season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, add your ground turkey, puffed brown rice cereal or cooked brown rice, five spice powder, coconut aminos, grated ginger and garlic, fish sauce, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
Once the bacon has cooled, chop or break it up into small crumbles and add to the turkey mixture along with the cooled and cooked shiitake mushrooms. Mix with clean hands until everything is fully incorporated.
Using a small ice cream scoop (I used a 2-inch one) or tablespoon, scoop small balls and roll in the palms of your hands until a meatball is formed. Repeat until all of the mixture is gone, placing each formed meatball on your lined sheet pan.
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes until cooked through, followed by 3 minutes broiled on high to achieve a nice golden color. Serve with pickled vegetables, mango salsa, your favorite greens, a wedge or two of lime and cilantro. Hot pepper jelly or honey would be fantastic drizzled over top, too. Enjoy!
