Never Again Will I Compromise Meatballs By Overcooking Them!
Even though I served some wontons in a soup, they came out noticeably dry. To prevent this, I had to watch the baking time during my second try.
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
Last month, I made meatballs from scratch for the first time. Since I wanted to use the same technique to make something savory, I went online for some ideas.
Inspiring Recipe
What I found was Naked Wonton Soup from Officially Gluten Free, a food blog. Since some of my family members were experimenting with the keto diet, I decided to try this recipe for making wontons without the wrappers.
First Try
After buying chicken broth and ground pork, I was ready to test the recipe.
Ingredients to Use
Starting with 7.62 ounces of shrimp as the basis, I targeted to decrease the remaining ingredients on the recipe slightly. The amounts that I ended up using were as follows:
For broth
- 30 ounces of salted chicken broth*
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1 green onion
For meatballs
- 7.69 ounces of ground pork
- 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 green onion
* For the chicken broth, I was limited to what was in the box. Luckily, there was only a tablespoon less than what I had planned for.
Steps to Prepare
In general, I followed all the steps, except for Step 3. After simmering the ginger and garlic cloves for 10 minutes and mixing the chopped shrimp, garlic, and green onion with the pork and sesame oil, I baked the meatballs for 29 minutes. The extra time was needed for the meatballs to brown slightly.
Time to Eat
When we were ready for dinner, I transferred the cooked meatballs that had simmered in the broth for 5 minutes and were sitting in the saucepan for a little while.
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰💰 | 🙂 |
The meatballs came out a little bland, but what stood out was the rough texture. Perhaps I should’ve served this dish immediately after simmering all the ingredients?
Second Try
During the second round, the main thing I wanted to do was make soft meatballs.
Ingredients to Use
This time, I had 8.29 ounces of shrimp, so I increased the amount for a few of the remaining ingredients. What I ended up with was as follows:
For broth
- 30 ounces of salted chicken broth*
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1 green onion
For meatballs
- 8.26 ounces of ground pork
- 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 green onion
* Again, I was limited to what was in the box of chicken broth. This time, I had a few ounces less than what I had preferred.
Steps to Prepare
With the second attempt at this recipe, I was more intentional with the cooking duration. First, I simmered the ginger and garlic cloves longer, for a total of 15 minutes. Later, I baked the meatballs less, for a total of 20 minutes, even though they had not really browned yet. Finally, I boiled the cooked meatballs less, for a total of 5 minutes.
Time to Eat
After decreasing the amount of time the meatballs were cooked, I was anxious to find out whether this adjustment had improved their texture.
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰💰 | 🤔 |
The meatballs were definitely not as stiff and had more flavor. Also, the broth also had better flavor since the ginger and garlic cloves were simmered for a longer period of time. However, because I wanted a more satisfying dish for the amount of work required for this recipe, I will likely try a different one next time.
If I ever want to spend time making wontons, I will do the following for a more authentic experience:
Continuous Improvement
- Find a recipe with more in-depth flavors that uses wonton wrappers.
After venturing on a non-traditional wonton recipe, I learned the following that I’d like to share with my younger self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- It’s okay if your experiments don’t end as you had hoped; just continue on your journey!
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the Naked Wonton Soup recipe from a food blog, Officially Gluten Free?
- Share your favorite wonton soup recipe?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)