Thai-Inspired Meatballs in Coconut-Peanut Sauce

So what happens when you love Asian food, have a buttload of ground beef to use up, and don't want a recipe high in fat or calories?

...I give you the bizarro, alternate-universe version of spaghetti and meatballs.

It looks like spaghetti and meatballs only thinner and whiter and gravier and peanuttier. Instead of hangin' out in a pool of tomato sauce these little guys have a decadent combination of peanut butter and coconut milk making them a tad bit irresistible.

And the fact that they are lower in fat and calories makes this one-month post partum baby belly very happy. Any means of keeping the muffin tops at bay is fine by me...especially if peanut sauce is involved.

Recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry
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Serves 4

Meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tbsp hoisin sauce or Korean BBQ sauce
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp cilantro, minced
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce
1 cup light coconut milk
1/3 cup hoisin sauce or Korean BBQ sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp light peanut butter
2 tbsp fresh basil or cilantro, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet with foil and a light coating of cooking spray. Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl and roll into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. That should be about 16-20 balls. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat combine all sauce ingredients and whisk to combine. Be liberal with the lemon zest...it adds great freshness to the sauce. Continue to stir until sauce comes to a bowl, then turn the heat down to medium and let cook 3-4 minutes. Turn to low simmer until meatballs are done. When the meatballs are done baking, remove them from the pan and add to the coconut-peanut sauce. Serve over vermicelli noodles (rice noodles) and garnish with a little more chopped basil or cilantro.

Click here for printable version of Thai-Inspired Meatballs in Coconut-Peanut Sauce.
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THE RESULTS?
Mmmmm...these were really good. When coconut milk is added to dishes, sometimes it can have an overpowering rich coconut flavor, but this sauce has great balance. The lemon zest really goes a long way to brighten and freshen the flavor. Even a little squeeze of lemon juice right at the end is nice. If you had some, adding chopped peanuts over top would be awesome.

The last time I made these I doubled the meatballs and baked them on my day off. I put one batch in a plastic container in the fridge and one batch in the freezer for later in the month. On a busy weeknight, I just had to put all the sauce ingredients in a large saucepan and put the meatballs from the fridge in the sauce to heat up. Fantastic and easy! I also didn't have any hoisin sauce on hand, but did have some Korean BBQ sauce. Both are soy based, rich and sweet so I thought it was a good substitute. Dare I say I liked it even better? These meatballs are awesome. Definitely try them.

Meal Ideas: