Saying good-bye to summer is hard. I’m in serious denial that it’s September and the unofficial end of summer, aka Labour Day weekend, is behind us. Super bummed about it, actually. This girl is not a fan of the cold.
So what did I do?
I booked a last minute vacation to Hawaii with my bestie. We leave in two weeks, and we’re counting down the days, hours and minutes to take-off. This vacation is the only thing getting me through the drastic weather cool-down.
That, and maybe these meatballs.
I suppose if I had to pick one good thing about the cooler weather, it’s that I’m far more willing to whip up some comfort food. For me, comfort food takes many forms – perogies, cabbage rolls, perishke, tomato soup with grilled cheese, anything with curry, and meatballs with rice. This recipe combines the last two.
I can’t get enough curry in my life – especially those of the Thai variety. Lemongrass, chillies, tamarind, coconut – what’s not to love? The flavours are fresh, bright, and spicy – often a dance between sweet, salty, and sour. These Coconut Meatballs showcase the best of these Thai flavours. The heat from the red curry is balanced nicely by fresh pineapple and coconut milk. To brighten up boring rice, I used lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and coconut milk in the pot while it’s cooking. Not to mention bacon, red peppers and a sprinkling of Thai basil – complete perfection.
Not only are Thai Coconut Curry Meatballs perfect for a weeknight meal, but they’re excellent for potlucks. Let’s face it, holiday season is just around the corner, and these meatballs will be the perfect addition to your party. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. I’m not ready to think about the holidays. I’m having a hard time dealing with the fact that I have to wear a sweater in the morning, let alone having to wear boots! First, I’m going to try to get through this Fall weather…by getting as far away from it as I can 😉
P.S. I’m wearing flip flops ’till it snows.
Thai Coconut Curry Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb bacon chopped into large pieces
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1 1/2 cans full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 pineapple peeled and cut into uniform chunks
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- salt to taste
- 2 lbs pre-cooked meatballs pork or beef, but chicken and turkey work great too * If you use frozen meatballs, make sure you thaw them first.
- 1/4 cup thai basil chiffonade
- Rice for serving*
Instructions
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In a large skillet, add chopped bacon, turn to medium heat, and fry until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan. Discard all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from the pan.
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Add the red curry paste, brown sugar, and fish sauce to the hot bacon fat and cook for about 3 minutes.
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Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Add cooked bacon, pineapple and red pepper to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
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Add the meatballs and cook for another 10 minutes. You want to ensure the meatballs are heated through.
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Remove from heat and sprinkle with thai basil. Serve with rice.
Recipe Notes
*for the rice, I recommend adding a splash of coconut milk, a stalk of lemongrass, a knob of ginger and a smashed garlic clove to the water while steaming.
These look so good! I do have two questions: I have some Red Curry Paste at home, not sure if it’s Thai or not.. is there a big difference, if at all? Second, where does one get Thai Basil from?
Hi Ashley! Thai curry usually includes lemongrass and fish sauce, so if you see these ingredients on the label, you’re probably in good shape. Thai Basil can be identified by a purple stem, and the flavour is a bit bolder than the normal stuff. You can get it at the Asian market, or Super Store.
Looks amazing! I love Thai food and also did a Thai meatball recently so … great minds!!!!
This looks delicious! I have a huge tub of Thai curry paste that I barely use, but now I’ve got something else to make with it! Thanks!
I’m 100% on board with this. 120% in fact. I’d like the extra 20% in the form of a to-go container full of meatballs.
LOVE the flavours you’ve got going on here, and I love that you didn’t cut corners on the Thai ingredients. I kinda go crazy when a recipe is supposedly ‘Thai,’ but it really just has coconut milk in it. Fish sauce for the win.
Darn tootin’ “Fish sauce for the win”! You certainly can’t be cutting corners and leaving key Thai ingredients out. In my testing I even busted out the tamarind, but found it didn’t change the flavour much, so just left it out.
Yes! I am a huge fan of these flavours – bookmarked to use with my fave meatball recipe… soon! Enjoy Hawaii!!
Thanks Mardi! Hope you enjoy the meatballs as much as I did!
Funny, I made Thai Coconut Curry Meatballs about a week before this post, lol. I was testing a recipe from an Instant Pot cookbook that used PRE COOKED meatballs and still required the dish to be slow cooked for 6 hours. WTF?
They weren’t great either. How do I review a cookbook that is bad?
I want YOUR meatballs.
Pre-cooked and then slow-cooked for 6 hours seems insane. I would personally use raw meatballs if it needs to be slow-cooked for that long. I haven’t even seen the recipe you used and I know mine is better hahah!!!
Those look so delicious!!!! I totally want to make them! I love anything curry, especially Thai curry. Hawaii – yay!! Nice running into you at Starbucks a while back 🙂
I love all things curry, too! Can’t get enough. And it was SO good running into you at Starbucks!