You might remember that I blogged about Chicken and Mango Flatbread not too long ago, using Pulo Cuisine sauces and marinades to create a unique recipe. That post was my submission to Pulo Recipe Challenge from Food Bloggers of Canada. There were so many incredible recipe submissions, so I know it must have been really tough to select just four of us to be their brand ambassadors. I’m so excited to announce that they picked me!
My fellow ambassadors are Tara from Noshing with the Nolands, Emily from Frugal Mom Eh, and Stéphanie from La p’tite fourchette. I hope you’ll visit their blogs and check out their great recipes, too.
For my first post as a Pulo ambassador, I’m sharing these sweet & sour meatballs that I created using their Mango Chili Marinade.
My family really likes sweet & sour sauce, whether it’s on meatballs, pork, chicken, or anything else you can think of. When I tasted this mango chili marinade, I noticed that it had a slightly sweet, sour, and spicy flavor to it that made me think it would be great in a sweet & sour sauce over meatballs.
And then I figured, why stop there? Since it’s a marinade, I decided to marinate the meatballs in it before cooking them. It turned out to be a good decision, because it made the meatballs so juicy and flavourful.
If you were in a rush, I sure you could skip that step and just use pre-made meatballs with the sweet and sour sauce poured over top. That sauce was delicious enough on its own. You could also prepare the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them for a fast weeknight dinner.
I served these meatballs over rice and with a side salad tossed with the lemongrass vinaigrette at I shared in my previous post for Pulo. The Whine Critics gobbled it all up! I have never seen Cole so enthusiastic about meatballs before. The boys fought over who would get the leftovers in their lunch the next day, and they’ve already been asking me when I’m going to make it again. I guess I’d better make a double batch next time!
Ingredients
- 500 g ground beef
- 1/4 cup grated onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup Pulo Mango Chili Marinade
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water or pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp Pulo Mango Chili Marinade
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp apricot or mango fruit spread
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion
- 3 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- In a very large bowl, combine ground beef, onion, garlic, salt, egg, breadcrumbs, and BBC sauce. Mix well with your hands.
- Take 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture and form into a ball. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.
- Place the meatballs in a sealable bag or container, then pour the marinade over them.
- Seal and refrigerate the meatballs for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.
- Bake meatballs on a foil-lined baking sheet at 350F for about 25 minutes, until cooked through and slightly browned.
- While the meatballs are baking, cook rice and make your sauce.
- Whisk together honey, vinegar, water (or juice), soy sauce, ketchup, marinade, and cornstarch in a bowl or measuring cup. Pour the mixture into a large skillet over medium heat.
- Whisk until the sauce begins to boil and thicken, then reduce heat and add the fruit spread, and red peppers. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Place the baked meatballs on top of cooked rice, then pour the Mango Chili Sweet & Sour sauce over them. Sprinkle with sliced green onion before serving.
https://foodwhine.com/2014/11/mango-chili-sweet-sour-meatballs.html
Disclosure: I receive compensation from Pulo Cuisine for my role as a brand ambassador. All opinions in this post are my own.
My kids like to whine, especially when it comes to the food they eat, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to make tasty and healthy meals for them. Follow along as I share family-friendly recipes and reviews from my picky family members, who I lovingly call “The Whine Critics.” 
