Teriyaki Meatballs with Carrot Rice

I'm a planner.  I have our weekly meal plans scheduled at least a week in advance, sometimes two. The meal plans often go through minor tweaks throughout the week but this week? My plan somehow fell apart.  Not necessarily in a bad way, but somehow this week I didn't have some ingredients for a dish (and refused to run to the store), my husband had a more frustrating day which clearly called for pizza, or I realized (in advance, thankfully) that a recipe was way too time-consuming for a weekday.  And then there was that incident with the dishcloth that started to smolder when I turned on the wrong burner on the stove.

But even though we've only had 1 meal that was originally on the week's menu, we've still eaten well.  Case in point: these teriyaki meatballs which were thrown on last night's menu primarily because I had all the ingredients and I had already prepped a Thai slaw.  But somehow, this meal came together so well! 

Although there were a few components, each step was pretty simple.  Rice into a rice cooker? Check.  Mix ingredients together and form the meatballs? Check.  While the meatballs bake, make the teriyaki sauce? Check.  Everything was excellent, too! The sauce was a great complement to the meatballs and the rice helps to soak up all the sauce.  We served it with a little extra sriracha sauce and sesame seeds alongside the Thai slaw and some edamame.  It was as if I had planned this meal all along.

PS - The meatballs and teriyaki sauce would also make great appetizers!

Teriyaki Meatballs with Carrot Rice
Meatballs and Rice taken from Martha Stewart
Teriyaki Sauce taken from Cookin Canuck
Serves 4-6 (more if used as appetizers)

Meatballs:

• 3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey or ground pork (I used ground beef instead)
• 3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced (I used minced red onion)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I omitted)
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 4 teaspoons hot-pepper sauce (preferably Sriracha)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Extra Sriracha and sesame seeds, for serving (optional)
• Carrot Rice:
• 1 cup long-grain white rice (I used brown rice in a rice cooker instead)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• Teriyaki Sauce:
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger (I didn't have so I used a dash or two of ground ginger)
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rice according to directions (brown rice will take longer). Remove from heat and top with carrot. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then stir in carrot and fluff rice with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, scallion whites, cilantro, fish sauce, hot-pepper sauce, sugar, garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Gently mix to combine and form into 12 regular meatballs or 24 smaller meatballs. Place the meatballs in a muffin pan.
3. Bake meatballs until cooked through, 10-15 minutes (depending on the size).
4. While the meatballs are baking, in a small saucepan, combine rice vinegar, brown sugar, water, soya sauce, 1/4 cup canola oil, ginger, garlic, flour, and sesame seeds. Whisk the sauce together and place over medium heat. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Keep warm.
5. Serve meatballs with rice, scallion greens (optional), sauce, Sriracha (optional) and sesame seeds.