Sweet & Spicy Eggplant Veggie Balls (The Fun In Cooking In Your Kitchen)

19 October 2024

Cooking is undoubtedly a fun adventure when done in your own kitchen. I couldn't agree more because, in our kitchen, I am free to do whatever I want to and become creative in experimenting and exploring new flavors, which I used to do back when I was abroad. And most importantly, being resourceful with ingredients on hand and creative in making delicious and healthy dishes from them is somehow rewarding, which brings comfort and joy. And when we make the most out of the ingredients on hand, we sometimes discover new flavors. I liked experimenting when I was abroad, so I could freely do it now at home.

For today's cooking, I used eggplants as the main ingredients. In the Philippines, the typical dishes we make from eggplants are usually tortang talong or eggplant omelet, adobong talong or eggplant cooked in soy sauce, or we usually add eggplants when cooking sinigang or Filipino-style soup. I considered making a typical dish using different methods and ingredients. I call it, sweet and spicy eggplant veggie balls.

Ingredients:
Eggplants
Minced carrots
Minced onions
Finely chopped napa cabbage (any green leafy veggie can be an alternative)
Beef loaf/Luncheon Meat cut into small dice (any meat can be an alternative)
Eggs
Flour
Sweet and spicy chili sauce

The preparation and cooking are easy and can be done in less than an hour.

First steam the slices of eggplants and then smash them with a fork.

Next, cut the ingredients into small dice.

Then, saute the ingredients until they are half-cooked. The purpose of doing this is to easily cook the balls later using a limited amount of oil because I'm not too fond of deep frying. I like the soft inside and crispy outside type of veggie balls.

Afterward, mix all the cooked ingredients with flour and eggs. I seasoned it with salt and pepper. You can also add some MSG if you want or other natural spices to elevate the flavor.

After mixing everything, I shaped the mixture into balls, set them aside, and fried them. As mentioned above, I disliked deep frying, so I only added a small amount of oil here and then shallow fry the veggie balls until they turned brown.

Then that's it! Easy and simple cooking. Here's your sweet and spicy Eggplant veggie balls.

For the dipping sauce, you can make whatever you want. You can make tomato sauce or sweet and spicy sauce. I bought a bottle of sweet chili sauce in the supermarket the last time I went marketing. I mixed the sweet chili sauce with some ketchup to lessen the spicy flavor and add more sweetness. It turned out great! I actually use this sauce when eating fries at McDonald's Hong Kong because they also serve Thai sweet chili sauce. You can use whatever sauce complements the veggie balls' flavor based on your liking.

If you like to make this kind of sauce but only have ketchup and don't have sweet chili sauce, you can sautee fresh chili flakes from your garden and then add some ketchup to it. Just make sure to add a suitable amount of chili according to your preference. This tastes amazing! It is proven because I already made it.

The rewarding moment in cooking is seeing your family eating it and enjoying your recipe. The first in line is my gullible little niece who loves eating but does not eat other viands.

She unexpectedly liked the veggie balls but only finished part of one veggie ball because she only eats a small amount of viand dishes like this. She likes eating pancit or Filipino-style vermicelli, fries, fried chicken, chocolates, ice cream, donuts, and cakes. She eats more unhealthy food, right? We can't help her. She's just a kid.

So, cooking at home is truly fun and fulfilling with the company of my family and this little kid. You can try this recipe, too. For easier cooking, you can use an air fryer to avoid using too much oil and getting your veggie balls burnt, lol. And if you wish to make pure vegan veggie balls, just omit the meat and use tofu instead. That's even more delicious and healthier.

Happy cooking!

Thanks for your time.

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