Korean Meatballs with Garlic Veggie Yakisoba Noodles

I absolutely love this recipe – it’s a delicious meatball that’s spiced up with asian flavors like soy sauce, gochujang, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar. This comes together so well with a saucy veggie packed stir fried noodle – I promise you’ll love this one!

Serves 5-6

VIDEO TUTORIAL HERE: Korean Inspired Meatballs and Veggie Yakisoba Noodles VIDEO

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs

• 1 lb (pound) ground beef – I use the 80/20
• 1 lb (pound) ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions – thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Sauce (Meatball and Noodles)

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons gochujang
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

For the noodles

• 16 ounces yakisoba noodles – ramen noodles also work, but cook this according to package directions
• 1 bell pepper – sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 bunch green onions – thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 heads broccoli – trimmed
• 1/4 cup pasta water
• black pepper
• kosher salt

Directions:

1. Prep all the veggies – mince the garlic and thinly slice the green onions, bell pepper, and broccoli.
2. Make the sauce by combing all the ingredients into a glass jar or bowl and mix to combine.
3. Make the meatball mixture. Add the gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, salt, and eggs into the mixing bowl first, and mix together. Add the remaining ingredients to this and mix well. Form into 2 tablespoon sized meatballs using an ice cream scoop if you have one.
4. Heat a large saute pan that has a lid on medium high heat and add a tablespoon of neutral oil to the pan. Add an even layer of the meatballs to the pan (can be slightly touching), and let cook until brown on each side. This should take about 3-4 minutes on each side. Once brown on both sides, pour in half of the sauce and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, soak the yakisoba noodles in warm water for 3-4 minutes. If you can’t find yakisoba noodles, you can also cook ramen noodles according to the package directions.
6. Heat 2 tablespoons of neutral oil in a large saute pan on medium high heat. Once hot, add the bell pepper and broccoli. Let cook for 3-4 minutes, then add a pinch of kosher salt, black pepper, green onions, and minced garlic and give everything a mix. Add the soaked (or cooked if using ramen) noodles and remaining sauce and give everything a stir. Taste, adjust seasoning as desired, and plate with some meatballs. Enjoy!