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Asian Pork Meatballs are a delicious treat made of pork and served with a decadent savory sauce! Classically they're a high-carb food, but with my keto pork meatballs recipe inspired by Chinese cuisine, the whole family can enjoy tender, juicy meatballs with only 1 net carb per serving!
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Chinese Meatballs Recipe
When I want to change things up and make a hearty, filling meal for my low-carb loved ones, I always find myself coming back to this recipe! Pork meatballs are delicious and perfect to serve with your favorite keto sides like pepper slaw or a bed of zucchini noodles.
What I love about this recipe is that it makes perfect meatballs without breadcrumbs! The inclusion of xanthum gum helps the meat bind together without needing any crumbs, so they're perfectly tender and hold their shape. They look beautiful on a plate, and taste just as good!
Not cooking keto? This recipe is still perfect for you! Just swap out the low-carb substitutes for regular ones, and they'll be just as delicious! Serve with a bed of rice or your favorite rice noodles and enjoy!
What are Chinese meatballs?
Chinese meatballs are typically made of ground pork, aromatics such as garlic and 5 spice powder, and "fluffers" like chopped water chestnuts and breadcrumbs. For this keto recipe, the high-carb chestnuts and breadcrumbs are left out in favor of other binders.
Asian Pork Meatballs Ingredients
- Ground pork
- Xanthum gum
- Ginger paste
- Minced garlic
- Soy sauce
- Chinese 5 spice powder
- White pepper
- Brown sugar substitute
- Oil for frying
Meatball Sauce Ingredients
- Soy sauce
- Fish sauce
- Sugar free honey substitute
- Rice vinegar
- Green onions
How to Make Pork Asian Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients aside from the oil, and knead them together until well combined.
- In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium high heat. While it's heating, roll the mixture into evenly sized meatballs.
- Add the meatballs, turning regularly, until they're browned on all sides and cooked through, 165°F minimum.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan and let them rest on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.
- In a small bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients, and mix well. Set some aside for dipping.
- Brush the rest of the sauce on to the meatballs with a basting or pastry brush, and enjoy!
Keto Meatballs Tips
- The cooking time for this recipe depends on how big the meatballs are! Big meatballs may take 15-20 minutes while smaller meatballs may take 10-15. Make sure to use an instant-read meat thermometer and always cook them to an interior temperature of 165°F. Check out my Pork Temperature Chart for more info!
- If you're not making these keto, feel free to add in chopped water chestnuts or some breadcrumbs! Just be sure not to add the chestnuts if you're going keto, as they're incredibly high in carbs.
- While perfect for meals, these meatballs also make great snacks! I love having a container of extra small Chinese pork meatballs in the fridge for quick and easy high-protein keto snacks!
Asian Meatballs FAQs
Meatballs typically include a high amount of carbs due to the inclusion of breadcrumbs. However, using other binders in the meatballs as well as a higher percentage of meat makes them a perfect keto-friendly meal!
Eggs are typically used to bind the meat and other ingredients in meatballs together so they don't fall apart while cooking. However, other binders well serve this purpose as well! In this recipe I used xanthum gum as a binder as it works perfectly with the high amount of meat.
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Keto Chinese Pork Meatballs
Equipment
- Large frying pan
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Ground pork
- ½ teaspoon Xanthum gum
- 1 teaspoon Ginger paste
- 2 teaspoons Minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
- White pepper to taste
- 2 teaspooons Brown sugar substitute I use Swerve brand
- Oil for frying
For Meatball Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sugar free honey
- ½ teaspoon Rice vinegar
- Green onions chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients aside from the oil, and knead them together until well combined.1 lb. Ground pork, ½ teaspoon Xanthum gum, 1 teaspoon Ginger paste, 2 teaspoons Minced garlic, 2 teaspoons Soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder, White pepper, 2 teaspooons Brown sugar substitute
- In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium high heat. While it's heating, roll the mixture into evenly sized meatballs.Oil
- Add the meatballs, turning regularly, until they're browned on all sides and cooked through, 165°F minimum.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan and let them rest on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.
- In a small bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients, and mix well. Set some aside for dipping.4 Tablespoons Soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons Fish sauce, 2 teaspoons Sugar free honey, ½ teaspoon Rice vinegar
- Brush the rest of the sauce on to the meatballs with a basting or pastry brush, and enjoy!Green onions
Notes
- The cooking time for this recipe depends on how big the meatballs are! Big meatballs may take 15-20 minutes while smaller meatballs may take 10-15. Make sure to use an instant-read meat thermometer and always cook them to an interior temperature of 165°F. Check out my Pork Temperature Chart for more info!
- If you're not making these keto, feel free to add in chopped water chestnuts or some breadcrumbs! Just be sure not to add the chestnuts if you're going keto, as they're incredibly high in carbs.
- While perfect for meals, these meatballs also make great snacks! I love having a container of extra small Chinese pork meatballs in the fridge for quick and easy high-protein keto snacks!
Nutrition
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