Sichuan Pepper Meatballs
The unique flavour of the Sichuan pepper makes these meatballs truly special.
The pungency and spiciness results from liberal use of garlic and chilli peppers originating from Sichuan province in southwest China.
Sichuan Pepper Meatballs
Recipe Type: Entree. Main.
Cuisine: Asian
Author:
Serves 4
Ingredients
- Oil
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan Peppercorns, roasted & ground
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
- 425g jar Old El Paso Mexican Beans
- 150g Button Mushrooms
- ¼ cup fresh Continental Parsley & Vietnamese Mint
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, ground
- 1 teaspoon Hot Chilli Powder
- 1 ½ cups Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 400g jar Barilla Pasta Sauce
- Rice Noodle Sheets
Instructions
- Sauté the Sichuan peppercorns off in a dry frypan for a few minutes; keep gently moving them around to ensure they do not burn. Remove from the pan and grind them in a pepper grinder.
- Add a little oil to the frypan and sauté the onion, garlic and ground Sichuan pepper until the onion is cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a food processor place the beans, mushrooms, parsley, mint, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, chilli powder and puree. Puree the mix until it is all combined. You can puree as smooth as you like or leave some texture to your ‘meatballs’.
- Remove from the food processor and place in a large bowl, fold in the onion, garlic & Sichuan pepper mixture and the breadcrumbs. Combine well then wet your hands with cold water and roll into small ball and place on a plate.
- Put some oil in a frypan and put your meatballs in and cook until browned (about 10 minutes), turning them often. When cooked through, add the pasta sauce to the pan and heat through.
- Cut the rice sheets to the desired thickness, microwave for one minute and separate the ribbons and place on the serving plate.
- Top the rice ribbons with the meatballs and sauce. Serve with Vietnamese mint and shaved vegan cheese.
- Tips:
- If you cannot find the rice noodle sheets, buy any rice noodle and cook as per packet instructions.
