Healthy Recipe Series: Teriyaki Chicken Balls
As mentioned in our Founders Interview, we kickstarted our FitThree's journey with the intent of providing on-the-go healthy options for all individuals, regardless of their backgrounds and lifestyle.
We want to provide options for anyone and everyone - the athlete with specific goals, the CBD worker with little to cook, the stay-at-home mum who is racking her brain to come up with allergy-friendly recipes, or someone simply looking to start leading a healthier lifestyle.
While we love being able to provide well-sourced alternatives，the end goal is to eventually enpower clients to make more informed choices and to cook for themselves！
Don't worry，we aren't expecting you to be the next Gordon Ramsey. Rather, we're suggesting a once or twice a week cook-out; a time where you get to have a hand at preparing your own healthy meals.
In this new series, we share some of our most popular recipes as voted by you.
Who knows? This might be the start of a new hobby, a chance to share some FitThree love with friends, or an opportunity to show family members that healthy doesn't always equal boring!
To kick things off, here's our popular Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs recipe; a great example of how you can "healthify" a traditional recipe!
Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs
How we "healthify" this?
A. Removing the skin and using a mix of chicken breast and thigh lowers the saturated fat content and also results in an overall leaner meatbase.
B. Combining honey and mirin; a sweetish sauce is still the result but without the need for refined sugar. At the end of the day, it's all about adjusting ratios so you can still enjoy your food!
C. Using cornstarch and tamari/gluten free soy sauce, this become a naturally gluten-free recipe.
So let's jump into it!
Ingredients:
Main (A):
- 900 Grams Ground Skinless Chicken - Hormone & Antibiotic free (1/2:Breast, 1/2:Tights)
- 20 Grams Cornstarch
- 185 Grams Whole Egg (3 medium size - cage free if possible)
- 5 Grams Garlic (2 cloves)
- 40 Grams Scallions
- 5 Grams Kosher Salt
Poaching (B):
- 2 Liters Water
- 5 Grams Ginger root
Sauce (C):
- 2 Grams Honey (organic when possible)
- 3 Grams Lemon Peel (Organic when possible - 1 Lemon)
- 3 Grams Orange Peel (Organic when possible - 1 Orange)
- 115 Grams Soy Sauce (Tamari or Gluten Free)
- 250 Grams Mirin
*Note: While we always recommend using better sourced/ organic products, this recipe works with whatever you have/ can find. At the same time, when product skins (such as lemon, orange, etc) are involved, this can be even more important as most pesticides are concentrated in the skin.
Preparation Steps:
- In a pot, boil the "Sauce (C)" items.
- Reduce the sauce to about half of its original volume until it become a syrupy texture. Set aside.
- Mix all the "Main (A)" items together and refrigerate for 20mn.
- Slice and boil the ginger in water (this will be the "poaching liquid")
Cooking Steps:
- Bring the poaching liquid to a simmer.
- With a soup spoon, take the "Main (A)" mixture and drop it (in about 3 inch balls) into the poaching liquid. Start on one side of the pot so you remember where you started.
- Let each ball cook for 4-5 mins.
- Remove the cooked balls from the stock and transfer to an oven proof tray with a paper towel to dry.
- Place the tray with chicken balls under a heated oven grill for a few minutes*
- Remove the tray.
- Pour the pre-mixed "Sauce (C) on top of the balls, mix it well, and put it under the grill to caramelize.
- If you want to be slightly fancier, put them on a bamboo skewer**
- Pour the on top of the balls, mixed well and put back for a quick moments under the grill to caramelize.
- Plate with a side of vegetables or jasmine/brown rice.
- Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it!
- Devour :)
- This is an optional step but will give the balls a charred flavor/taste. Be careful, though, as the roasting can go pretty fast!
** Soak the skewers in water for about an hour if you plan to use them in the oven to avoid them getting burnt.
Want to see a particular recipe featured? Reach out to us at feedme@fitthree.com
Cooked up one of our recipes? Let us know the outcome or tag us on Instagram @fitthreesg