Just look at those meatballs, Don't you just want to dive in and eat them? A lovely example of the Maillard reaction and sweet, salty and sticky to boot. These meatballs are delicious as a snack or cocktail nibble. Just make sure to provide LOTS of napkins.
Makes 12 meatballs
1 lb best quality ground pork
2 tsps Chinese five spice
2 tsps freshly ground ginger root
3 Tbsps Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp sake or white wine
1 tsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Mix the ground pork, two tablespoons of the Hoisin sauce. the five spice, ginger and salt together in a bowl along with one tablespoon of ice cold water. Do not overmix or your meatballs will be too compact and tough. Gently form the meat into balls.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. As soon as the oil is shimmering, add all of your meatballs to the pan. Let cook for a minute or so before gently turning them over and letting the other side cook as well. Do this until the meatballs are lightly charred on all sides. This will take under 5 minutes.
As soon as the meatballs are a beautiful golden brown, add the remaining Hoisin sauce and the wine/sake to the pan and stir to combine. Let cook for a couple of minutes more, spooning the resulting sauce over the meatballs as you go.
Remove meatballs from the sauce to serve but feel free to serve any remaining sauce on the side to be used as a dipping sauce.