Ah… sweet and sour (糖醋 táng cù)! I mean, what is there not to love. It has that magic taste that hits all the right taste buds giving you the ultimate comforting feeling. I love sweet and sour and if I am tired and hungry that’s normally the first thing I look for when I am outside.
In China, we have lots of sweet and sour recipes, which I will slowly introduce to you over the course of several recipes, including this one. May it be pork, beef, chicken, egg, tofu, fish, or anything you can think of, we most probably have a sweet and sour recipe for it.
In this post, we’re going to cook a super quick adapted version of sweet and sour beef meatballs（糖醋牛肉丸 táng cù niú ròu wán ）together. And don’t be thinking you’ll need store-bought sauce. In this authentic recipe, you’ll be making it from scratch which is orders of magnitude better than what you find at the supermarket. You can literally have this done within 15 mins and… BOOM happy eating!
What You’ll Need to Cook This Dish
One box of beef meat balls from your local supermarket. Mine are dozen 10% fat meatballs roughly 350g. You’ll also need tomato puree, sugar, light soy, Shaoxing cooking wine, and the soul of this dish – Chinese dark rice vinegar.
Naturally, you’ll also need some veggies. For me, I chose one bell pepper and a handful of cherry tomatoes. You could also try pineapple or carrot and let us know if you find other vegetables or fruits that go well with the sweet and sour sauce.
Now let’s get cooking!
Quick Sweet & Sour Beef Meatballs Recipe
Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Super Easy3
servings5
minutes15
minutesAn authentic Chinese recipe that shows you how to make a homemade sweet and sour sauce with meatballs and vegetables.
Ingredients
10% fat beef meatballs 350g
1 x bell pepper
9 x cherry tomatoes
Shaoxing cooking wine 1 tbs
Light soy sauce 2 tbs
Sugar 2 tbs
Chinese dark rice vinegar 3.5 tbs
Water 3.5 tbs
Corn starch 2.5 tsp
Tomato puree 1/2 tbs
Directions
- Let’s get the meatballs ready. Mix well with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, and cook them thoroughly. I used my air fryer because it makes the process fast and hassle-free. I set my air fryer at 200°C for 12 mins, which I have shaken the meatballs 2 times during the whole cooking process.
- While our meatballs are getting cooked nicely, let’s prepare our veggies.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and chop the bell pepper into small pieces (similar size as the cherry tomatoes). Place them aside for later use.
- Mix the sweet & sour sauce ingredients well in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat up a cooking pot on high heat, put 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil after the pot is properly heated.
- Wait for the oil to warm up and add your choice of veggies in. Let them cook for 2 mins.
- Add the cooked beef meatballs in. Keep stir fry for 30 secs until well mixed.
- Mix your bowl of sweet & sour sauce well, pour in the pot. Keep stirring on high heat until the sauce thickens.
- Place in a plate, you could choose to garnish with some white sesame seeds, finely chopped spring onions, or just serve as it is with rice. Enjoy! Or as we say in China: “您吃好 nín chī hǎo (Eat well)”.
Try It Yourself!
And there you have it! A quick and easy sweet and sour dish for pretty much any occasion. We’re quite confident that after making our sweet and sour sauce you’ll never go back to store-bought again. Let us know how it goes by leaving a comment below. We’re also around to answer questions if have any. And also remember to follow us on Instagram for more food photos!
