The meatballs carry the seasoning. Scallion, ginger, garlic and a tablespoon of fish sauce go into the mix rather than into the curry, so each one is flavoured from the inside before it meets the sauce.
The curry itself is four ingredients and thirty seconds of technique: red curry paste bloomed in the pan the meatballs browned in, then coconut milk, broth and a teaspoon of sugar.
Why This Recipe Works
- Panko and egg keep ground chicken — which is lean and loose — holding together as twenty meatballs.
- Browning them first builds colour and leaves fond the curry paste is bloomed in.
- A gentle twelve to fifteen minute simmer brings them to 165 degrees Fahrenheit without boiling them firm.
- Lime juice goes in after the simmer, where its sharpness cuts the coconut rather than cooking away.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground chicken
- A pound and a half, rolled into twenty. Poultry, so the doneness standard is 165 degrees Fahrenheit rather than the 160 a beef meatball takes.
- Thai red curry paste
- One tablespoon, bloomed for thirty seconds in the pan after the meatballs come out.
- Fish sauce
- A tablespoon, in the meatball mix rather than the curry. It seasons the meat from within.
How to Make It
Mix and roll
Mix ground chicken, panko, egg, scallions, ginger, garlic and fish sauce; form 20 meatballs.
Brown and remove
Brown meatballs in oil over medium-high heat; remove.
Build the curry
Cook curry paste for 30 seconds, then add coconut milk, broth and sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Simmer to 165F
Return meatballs and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, until centers reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir in lime juice.
Serve
Serve meatballs and pale yellow curry with white rice, cilantro, chile and lime.
Ground Chicken Goes to 165F
A beef meatball is done at 160F. These are not beef, and the shape does not change what the bird requires - so the recipe browns them for colour only and brings them up in the sauce.
- Bound to hold together1 1/2 lb of ground chicken with 1/3 cup panko, an egg, minced scallion, 2 tsp ginger, garlic and 1 tbsp fish sauce, rolled into 20. Lean ground poultry is loose; the panko and egg are what make twenty meatballs possible.
- Browned, then outOver medium-high heat in a tablespoon of oil, then removed. This step is for colour and for the fond the curry paste will bloom in - not for doneness.
- The curry built in the same pan1 tbsp red curry paste for 30 seconds, then a 13.5 oz can of coconut milk, 1 cup of broth and 1 tsp of brown sugar, brought to a gentle simmer.
Check before you continue
165F — Instant-read thermometer, into the centre of a meatball
12 to 15 minutes after the meatballs go back in. Ground poultry mixes any surface bacteria all the way through, and a browned exterior says nothing about the middle. A gentle simmer gets there without boiling them firm.
- Lime, then the bowl1 tbsp of lime juice stirred in once the reading is confirmed, then served over white rice with cilantro, sliced red chile and lime wedges.
Success Tips
- Wet your hands before rolling; ground chicken is stickier than beef.
- Brown for colour, not doneness — the simmer is what brings them to temperature.
- Check a meatball from the middle of the pan rather than the edge.
Serving Ideas
Six servings of meatballs in the pale yellow curry over six cups of cooked white rice, with cilantro, sliced red chile and lime wedges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why 165 and not 160 degrees?
These are ground chicken, and poultry carries a 165 degree Fahrenheit standard whatever shape it is in.
Is there peanut in this?
No. It is a coconut and red curry sauce.
The mixture is very sticky.
Ground chicken is looser than beef. The panko and egg are what bind it into twenty meatballs.
