Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls

These tasty chicken balls are accompanied by a perfect (and easy) sweet and sour sauce. They’re designed to be allergy-friendly – free of the top allergens and gluten!

No need to miss out on Asian-style cooking. Just make it at home!

Makes: 10-12 servings
Free of: gluten and all top allergens

Photo: Chris Gonzaga

Ingredients

Chicken Balls

1 1 /2 lbs (0.7 kg) ground chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 cup (250 mL) fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
3 green onions, minced
1 tsp hot chili sauce (Look for allergy-friendly, gluten-free brand)
1 tbsp ground allspice
Salt and pepper
1 cup (250 mL) cornmeal
1 /4 cup (60 mL) allergy-friendly vegetable oil or olive oil

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup (250 mL) pineapple juice
1 cup (250 mL) ketchup
1 /4 cup (60 mL) brown sugar
1 /4 cup (60 mL) rice wine vinegar

Instructions

Add all ingredients for chicken balls to a large bowl, except the cornmeal and vegetable oil. Stir until thoroughly combined.
Using your hands, take about 2 tbsp of mix, and roll into a ball. Continue this process until the mixture is used up.
Place cornmeal in a wide, flat bowl. Roll chicken balls in to coat.
Using a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add balls and turn often, until cooked through and golden brown.
For the sauce: combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Serve warm chicken balls on skewers. Drizzle with sauce.

Simon Clarke is a chef and recipe developer.