Korean Meatballs – Vegan and Gluten-Free!

Are you ready to make Korean Meatballs that are Vegan and Gluten-Free? 

Since Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground has become my family’s current favorite plant-based meat, so I’m constantly looking for new ways to use this terrific product. This time I’m trying my hand at perfecting Korean Meatballs! Beyond Beef’s meat-like mouth feel, gristle, and taste really does have the power to fool carnivores!

Although meatballs have always seemed like a staple of Italian cuisine (try my own recipe here), I’ve discovered that almost every culture has its own unique version.  Although I still need to work on perfecting   a vegan version of Albondigas (a small Spanish meatball popular at tapas bars), the second time was the charm for my Korean Meatballs.

I wanted the Korean Meatballs to be both vegan and gluten-free, so instead of using a combination of crushed organic Triscuits and panko (which I used the first time), I used Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins.  (I love these  addictive almond and rice crackers that are also low in sodium!) Buzzed in the food processor for about 10-15 seconds, they yielded a fine crisp crumb that held the meatball together nicely, without needing to use an egg as a binder.

I also recommend that you get some Gochujang, which is Korean Chili Sauce.  The Chung Jung One Gochujang is both vegan and gluten-free with a decided kick that was not over-powering.

Last, but not least if you are looking for a gluten-free soy sauce,  I suggest you try SAN-J Organic Tamari in its low-sodium version.

Now, on to the Meatball Making.

Basically, you start with a pound package of Beyond Beef in a large bowl and mix in the next seven ingredients.

 

For mixing, I’ve found that hands actually work much better than a wooden spoon, a food processor, or a hand mixer. To stay sanitary, my hubby has decided that  washing and drying his hands before donning disposable gloves works well – and then he washes his gloved hands again before digging into the meatball mixture.  He’s gotten pretty adept at mixing and then making fairly round meatballs!

 

He makes his meatballs a bit bigger than a golfball, which means that a pound of Beyond Beef will yield about a dozen meatballs.

 

We baked them on non-stick aluminum foil in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes, turning once about half-way through the cooking time.

Surprisingly, Beyond Beef  renders a fair amount grease, just like real beef does.  I drained mine on a triple layer of paper towels.

(And yes, I get that this is a fairly nasty looking photo!  I wanted to include it so that you know you haven’t done anything wrong when it happens to you!)

And, now, the sauce!

I made an easy sauce with organic apricot preserves, more tamari and gochujang, ginger, garlic, and rice  vinegar. It provides tangy sweetness which balances the slight heat from the gochujang and garlic in the meatballs.

 

While the meatballs were baking, I threw together a spinach salad with a dressing made of tamari, dark sesame oil, garlic, a tiny bit of sugar, juice of half a lime, and sesame seeds.

And since my hubby decided to buy some purple daikon at the Farmers Market, I experimented with a shredded carrot and daikon salad – which was a surprisingly tasty accompaniment.

Not bad for a rainy Monday night!