Vegetarian Mushroom Meatballs With Honey-Ginger Glaze

Updated Jan. 30, 2020

Vegetarian Mushroom Meatballs With Honey-Ginger Glaze
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(220)
Comments
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These tender, aromatic meatballs are packed with almost a pound of vegetables and a healthy dose of fresh ginger. Rice noodles are the secret to these tender meatballs, keeping them moist while they bake. The shiitake mushrooms provide rich, meaty umami flavor, while the baby bok choy keeps the meatballs delicate and light. These meatballs make a great snack for entertaining, or can form the foundation of dinner when served over brown rice with more steamed bok choy on the side. Leftover meatballs can be frozen and reheated in a 425-degree oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 dozen meatballs
  • 7tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3tablespoons honey
  • 1(2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 4 teaspoons)
  • 1teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ounce dried rice vermicelli noodles, crumbled into small pieces (about ¼ cup)
  • Boiling water, as needed
  • 2garlic cloves, peeled
  • 6ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered (about 1½ cups)
  • 6ounces baby bok choy, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 2 packed cups)
  • 2ounces panko bread crumbs (about ¾ cup)
  • 1large egg
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • Canola oil, for greasing
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

28 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 157 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small saucepan, combine 6 tablespoons soy sauce with the honey; warm over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (you should have about ⅓ cup). Stir in 2 teaspoons ginger and ½ teaspoon pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place crumbled vermicelli noodles in a small heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water by 1 inch. Cover and let stand until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain noodles, pressing to remove excess liquid. Cool and coarsely chop.

  3. Step 3

    In a food processor, pulse garlic until finely chopped. Add mushrooms and pulse just until finely chopped with some pea-size pieces remaining (do not purée); transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with bok choy, pulsing it then adding it to the large bowl. Add panko, egg, salt, cooled noodles and remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons ginger and ½ teaspoon pepper to the large bowl; mix until well blended. Form into 1¼-inch balls (about 2 teaspoons each; you should have about 24).

  4. Step 4

    Arrange meatballs on a greased baking sheet. Brush meatballs with half of the glaze and bake for 10 minutes. Brush meatballs with the remaining glaze, rotate baking sheet before returning to the oven, and bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer to serving plate and serve warm.

Ratings

4 out of 5
220 user ratings
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Comments

I have tried more than than a hundred great NYT recipes, and I can usually tell when something won't work, but I made a mistake choosing this one. Aside from the fact that it has a ton of sodium and so little protein that it can't possibly serve as dinner, the end result is essentially boring mush with no textural interest and a strong note of raw garlic (20 minutes in a wet environment isn't enough to really cook it). Really not recommended.

Overall taste is heavy on soy and ginger, which is great if you like bold, in-your-face flavors. Texturally they are nothing like meatballs; they are their own thing, just a hair toothsome from the vermicelli. The word "meatball" in the title might be a bit misleading to some. I want to make this again but roast the shiitakes first to intensify and up the shroomyness.

Thought it could use a little less soy sauce but otherwise Solid

I will definitely be repeating this recipe - it is SO DELICIOUS and it achieves the difficult feat of being simultaneously light and super flavorful.

Won’t make again. Glaze was good but balls themselves not worth effort

Read all the notes, so used low sodium shoyu and scanted it by about 2 tsp. Also did not add salt. Left ginger out of glaze, but upped it a little in the mushroom mixture. Used shitakes and maitakes. Mixture very wet (surely variable due to mushrooms & bokchoy), squeezed excess liquid from balls to cup, added to glaze. Put drops of toasted sesame oil in glaze. Cayenne, not black pepper. Took about another 10 minutes for balls to cook, still very light and puffy. Pre-roast mushrooms next time

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