#35_SWEET and SOUR MEATBALLS

Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice

Years ago my sister Melinda gave me a recipe of tempura chicken with sweet and sour sauce. It is the best sweet and sour sauce recipe there is and it is very versatile as you can pour it on fried fish or on pork tempura or chicken tempura or shrimp tempura.

What makes this sweet and sour meatball recipe extra easy to prepare is that you can make the meatballs ahead of time (recipe #33). The veggies are optional, but if these veggies don't bother you, it won't hurt to add them in the sauce. Actually, they enhance the flavor and the appearance of the sauce.

Recipe for the SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:

2 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 piece carrot, sliced

1/2 of green pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 of red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

small piece ginger, julliened

1 small can tomato sauce or 1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp salt

dash ground pepper

1 can (15.25 0z) pineapple tidbits

2 tbsp cornstarch

Procedure:

1. In a skillet, heat the oil to hot but not smoking; quickly saute the onion, the peppers, carrots and the ginger for about 1 minute. Take them out of the skillet and put them in a little bowl

2. In same skillet, on medium high heat, pour in the tomato sauce, soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir in the brown sugar and add the salt and pepper.

3. Take the juice out from the canned pineapple. In the juice dissolve the cornstarch and using a whisk briskly mix it in with the tomato and vinegar mixture making sure there's no lumps.

4. Put the meatballs (recipe #33) in the sauce and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring ocassionally.

5. Add the pineapple tidbits and the sauteed veggies; simmer until the veggies are heated through

To be continued...MaMely is sleepy. there might be a lot of errors in this post, I will just edit it tomorrow or so.