Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs

The tender, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs are served in a Thai-style coconut red curry sauce that is full of flavor for an Asian twist on meatballs in red sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Thai

Keyword chicken, coconut, coconut milk, curry, ground chicken, meatball

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Servings

Calories 386kcal

Ingredients

For the coconut curry sauce:

1 tablespoon peanut oil (or other neutral oil)
1 cup chopped white onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 packed tablespoon light brown sugar
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 (13½-ounce) can coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce

For the chicken meatballs:

½ cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup coconut milk (or whole milk)
1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1” chunks and frozen for about 30 minutes
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 large egg
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or other neutral oil)

For serving:

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the coconut curry sauce:

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the peanut oil and heat through. Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and tender, about 4 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute before stirring in the red curry paste and sugar. Let cook until the mixture is fragrant, about an additional 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes and coconut milk to the pot and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer about 30 minutes.
Let the sauce cool slightly then transfer the sauce to a blender. Puree the curry sauce then return to the heat. Stir in the fish sauce.

For the chicken meatballs:

In a small bowl stir together the panko and milk and let sit for 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment add the chicken, panko mixture, onion, garlic, cilantro, egg, lemon, salt, pepper and oil.
Pulse until the chicken is ground but not pureed. The mixture will be sticky. Add the mixture to a medium mixing bowl and freeze for 30 minutes.
Gently shape the mixture into 2” meatballs and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

For serving:

Add the chicken meatballs to the pot and gently stir to coat the meatballs in the sauce. Cover and continue to simmer, until the meatballs are cooked through and tender, about 15 minutes.
Garnish with the cilantro and ladle into bowls.

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