WHB: Meatballs With Ginger Root And Radish Greens, For The Sensitive Stomach

After a week of eating little to no food, and what I did eat was very bland, I decided to test my stomach.    I wanted something with ginger root, as it's  a time honored remedy for an upset stomach. In truth, I wanted it more for the taste.   And I wanted it in meatballs.  Once the thought came into my head there was no going back.  So, I ground two skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the food processor, with radish greens from my garden, a little soy sauce, and ginger root.  I made five meatballs, cooked them in a skillet, ate them with profound pleasure, then waited for my stomach to protest.  It didn't. There was nary a peep out of it.

I've loved radishes all my life, but only recently began using the tops in cooking. They have a marvelous tangy bite, like horseradish, and paired nicely here with the ginger root.  And since radishes can be shockingly expensive at times, it's nice to use both the root and tops.  They are amazingly easy and quick to grow yourself, which is what I do now. 

On Saturday, my mind kept thinking about the meatballs, so I decided to test my stomach again with something stronger. I made the same recipe, but added a spoonful of garlic chili sauce.  But, this time I made silver dollar sized patties. I don't know why meatballs and tiny patties taste much better than regular sized fare, but they do.  Plus, it seems like your getting more food.  I wound up with seven little patties, which seemed quite indulgent.

I've had a love affair with ginger root from the first time I tasted it, and want to grow my own. There are many different varieties, other than the type sold in the grocery store, and people tell me that it grows easily.  My dream is to suffer the happy delimma of harvesting an overabundance of ginger root, necessitating using it in a constant stream of recipes.   I'll take that over too much zuchinni.

This is my submission to Weekend Herb Blogging, the creation of our marvelous Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen .  WHB is being hosted this week by Maninas at Maninas: Food Matters.  Make sure to stop by this beautiful blog to see the recap of fabulous herby recipes from bloggers around the world.

Meatballs With Ginger Root And Radish Greens

I didn't measure a lot of this.  I added what seemed like the right amount of whatever ingredient, and after mixing it all together, I cooked a small bit of it and tasted it.   I found I needed more soy sauce. So, add whatever you like.

8-10 ounces of skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Or use pre-ground turkey/chicken from the store
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce (or to your taste)
1 teaspoon of grated ginger root (or to your taste)
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1 cup radish greens, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Asian garlic chili sauce (optional--but it tastes great)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until it is ground in a rough mixture.   Wet your hands and roll out meatballs or patties the size of silver dollars.  Heat a non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam or oil until it's hot, add the meatballs or patties and cook on each side over medium heat until done. It took mine about 4 minutes on each side. Don't overcook.

This should serve 1-2 people

Comments

[Lydia]

I agree -- food that is small, like meatballs, always tastes better than the same food made into a single meat loaf. Go figure! Hope these delicious meatballs helped you feel better.

[aria]

shere those look so delicious, i love gingery ground up chickem, mmmm

you make the best meatballs, one day you should publish a book!

((hope you feel better, sniff))

[natalie]

those meatballs look so yummy! i'm always trying to find good meatball recipes (i've mastered the swedish meatballs, but thats about it!) so i'll definitely give these a try!

[rachel]

This looks fabulous! I love ginger in meatballs, it is one of my favorite things.

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Wow, this is so perfect. I'm so with you on the size of small meat balls and little patties! I just did some small patties the other night and plan it again for tonight. Pretty nice to use from your garden ;)) always makes me happy.

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

And so happy you tummy is happier!!

[Astrid]

mmmmmh that looks sooo yummy!
May I come over and have a bite? Never made meatballs out of chicken but I love the idea with ginger root and chicken - I definitely have to try these!

[Graeme]

Chicken in the guise of more Beef-associated dishes is so underrated, and the smell from that Ginger root frying must be sensational.

[Jeff]

Been a while since I've had fresh ginger around here...hmmm..perhaps need to change that

[DocChuck]

Well, I am pretty certain that your meatballs will soothe a hungry stomach, upset or not.

They sound delicious, and I have taken the liberty of copying your recipe to my collection.

Thanks for the great post.

[breadchick]

Oh DAMN! I wish I had read this post about an hour ago!!! I just thinned my radishes and what did I do with the little radish sprouts that are not destined to be big radishes?

They are currently in the middle of my compost pile...

Sher, these look fabulous and I'm going to remember this for when my radishes are big.

[Marc @ NoRecipes]

Ooo looks delicious! I bet this would be great with some scrambled eggs too!

[Callipygia]

I love radish tops, sometimes even more than their counterweights... also ginger is good for upset tummies! Glad yours didn't rebel.

[noobcook]

Wow this recipe is absolutely brilliant, I really want 2 try it out! very nice photos!

[Mrs. L]

Those look so good! And I agree that little bites always seems to taste better.

[Cindy]

Ginger definitely gives these meat balls another kick for the flavor,
They look wonderful!

[Kirk]

Hey Sher - Looks great. I ran into a little problem in a village outside of Sapa in North Vietnam, it was amazing how sugar cane boiled in ginger juice had me fixed up in no time.....actually, just in time for dinner!

[Rosa]

What scrumptious looking meatballs! Very tasty!

Cheers,

Rosa

[Rachelle ~ "Mommy? I'm Hungry!"]

These sound great! Will have to make us some.

[Meryl]

Those look amazing, healthy, and delicious. I will put it on my "must make list." Thanks for sharing.

[Maninas]

Sounds fantastic!

Many thanks for a great WHB entry! :D

[DocChuck]

Guess what?

It wasn't too late to fish those greens out of the compost heap after all!

The meatballs (actually, I made patties) tasted great!

I used kojuchang instead of regular chili/garlic paste (which I consider very mundane).

Brought me back to some of the fantastic food I enjoyed when in the Army in the Korean war.

Thanks for the recipe!

[Glenna]

Seriously, what a wonderful thing. They look so delicious, comforting, healthy....what more could you ask for?

[Sophie]

I'm Sophie, Key Ingredient's Chief Blogger. We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email [email protected] if interested. Thanks :)

Sophie

[Sophie]

I'm Sophie, Key Ingredient's Chief Blogger. We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email [email protected] if interested. Thanks :)

Sophie

[Michelle]

This sounds absolutely delicious. I actually don't eat regular meatballs, so seeing a yummy recipe for them using chicken instead (which I do eat) is so heartening :) I'm hoping you're over your sickness by now...keep the recipes coming! I'm definitely a fan.

[Taster]

Tasty recipe, I recommend a few options. Add some sugar, garlic, lime juice in the blend. Also, grate the radishes and chicken seperately, then mix together with panko and all other ingredients and grate them all at once. I'd also recommend lower heat because browning occurs fast on medium heat.

[meatballs]

Mouth-watering, I really love these tiny meatballs. They looks so cute and delicious, to tell you the truth, as I tried, the ginger root, and Asian garlic chili sauce that you added really give this recipe a refreshing change, I love them very much. Thank you so much for sharing :D