Asian Shrimp and Pork Meatballs
These Asian shrimp and pork meatballs will evoke memories of Sunday dim sum and carts of goodies being wheeled from table to table. The combination of ground pork, shrimp quickly chopped in a food processor, and the Chinese mirepoix of garlic, ginger, and green onions come together for a simple but flavorful addition to your dinner menu.
Like most meatball recipes, these shrimp and ground pork meatballs make for a quick and easy weeknight meal. They’re perfect for serving with rice, noodles, or your favorite Asian-inspired side dishes.
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Ingredients
Variations and substitutions
- Fry these pork and shrimp meatballs to get a crispier meatball crust, but it means a bit more fat.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the garlic, ginger, and shrimp very fine. The meatballs should still hold together.
Recipe tips and tricks
Making meatballs and meatloaves
There’s an easy-to-remember starting ratio for meatballs and meatloaves. For every pound of ground or minced meat, use one egg and one half cup of breadcrumbs or equivalent. The pureed shrimp substitutes for the egg in this recipe.
Finely chop any add-ins. Otherwise your meatballs may have a hard time staying together.
If you’re using onion or another crunchy vegetable like fennel or celery, you’ll need to cook it first. But that just adds time and another pan to clean. You can always sub in green onions, shallots, or another small allium for the onion!
Tip from the wise quacker: if you have a picky eater or you are uncertain how to cook meat, using ground meat (or grinding or mincing it yourself) can be a great entry point. Make meatballs or meatloaves in whatever your favorite flavor combinations.
Making these ground pork and shrimp meatballs
Use your food processor to your advantage! Chop the ginger and garlic in it, and then add the shrimp to the food processor and process until the shrimp is finely chopped.
Combine the shrimp and pork mixture gently with your hands. Use a spoon or a #40 cookie scoop to scoop two tablespoons of meatball mixture, and then roll into balls. Using a cookie scoop helps to have meatballs about the same size for cooking consistency.
Put the ground pork and shrimp balls in a pan covered with a thin layer of oil or lined with parchment paper so they don’t stick. Then bake about 15 minutes until the internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve immediately.
What to serve with shrimp and pork meatballs
- Make a homemade dim sum
- Serve with rice and an Asian-flavored coleslaw.
- Steam or stir fry some vegetables and serve over noodles.
- Leftover meatballs would be great in a grain bowl or a meatball wrap.
- Drink with a dry martini, sparkling wine, or rose syrup French 75, a cocktail made with gin and bubbly.
Do you love meatball dinners? Check out more options for meatballs and what to serve with meatballs for dinner.
Recipe FAQs
Technically they are two different ways of processing meat (i.e. grinding versus fine cutting). But effectively they are the same thing, with “ground pork” being the more common terminology in the U.S. and “mince” being used elsewhere.
While you can often test whether meat is cooked in other ways – by cutting into meat or by poking it with your finger, the easiest and safest way to check is with a thermometer. The USDA says that ground poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees and other ground meats to 160 degrees.
Leftover meatballs freeze well. First blot off any oil with a paper towel and then freeze the lot in a freezer bag with all the air removed. Reheat in the oven or in a steamer basket.
Related meatball recipes
Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery meatballs like:
Or look at other Asian-inspired recipes like this pulled duck breast, Peking Duck-inspired ground duck meatloaf, or these purple ube crinkle cookies.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Shrimp and Pork Meatballs
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- vegetable oil or spray for the pan or use parchment paper
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- ½ pound raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, rinsed in cold water, and drained
- 1 pound ground or minced pork
- ¾ cup panko or other dried breadcrumbs
- 4 green onions, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or Szechuan pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray or oil a roasting pan with vegetable oil or line with parchment.vegetable oil or spray for the pan
- Add the ginger and garlic in the bowl of the food processor and process until chopped. Scrape down the bowl of the processor if necessary.2 cloves garlic, 1 inch fresh ginger
- Add the shrimp to the food processor and process until the shrimp is finely chopped.½ pound raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, rinsed in cold water, and drained
- Add the shrimp mixture to a medium bowl with all of the other ingredients, and use your hands to combine until well mixed.1 pound ground or minced pork, ¾ cup panko or other dried breadcrumbs, 4 green onions, sliced thin, 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or Szechuan pepper
- Use a medium cookie scoop or your hands to form golf ball-sized meatballs and place them in the pan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. I usually shake the pan once or twice during that time to get more even browning.
Notes
- The mixture should be combined gently with your hands (no need to knead!) and rolled to form balls.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to get meatballs of generally the same size for cooking consistency.
- Parchment paper or a little oil prevents the meatballs from sticking to the pan.
Nutrition
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Aka “crack” meatballs. Holy wow, these are sooooo tasty.
So glad you liked them. You should definitely also try the BBQ meatballs I recently shared.