Thai Turkey Meatballs with Red Curry Sauce

By: Cat Ebeling, BSN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Thai food. It sounds exotic, but really it just takes a few different ingredients and you can create these amazing Thai dishes. Your friends and family will be super impressed!

This recipe uses super-food ingredients like turmeric, hot chilies, garlic and ginger. All of these foods are known for their powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting and cancer fighting powers. And, while these foods often get the spotlight as being the highest in powerful nutrients, don’t overlook the onions and garlic!

Onions and garlic are both related to the allium family of vegetables and fight many types of cancer including: breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers, laryngeal, esophageal, gastric, colon, renal and prostate cancers. This is primarily due to the quercetin they contain, along with sulphur compounds such as: diallyl disulfide (DDS), S-allylcysteine (SAC), and S-methylcysteine (SMC). It is thought that these compounds actually prevent cancer tumor growth and gene mutations, while fighting free radicals.

Eating onions 1-2 times a week helps fight cancers, but the optimal amount of onions is about a 1-cup serving or so of onions daily! I know that sounds like a lot, but its really not. Add some green onions (scallions) to garnish your eggs in the morning, put some sliced red onion on your salad at lunch, and be sure to add them to whatever dish you make at dinnertime. Cooking does not take away the onion’s nutrient power, so simmering onions into your soup and cooked dishes still gives you plenty of health benefits.

Like garlic, onions go a long way towards helping prevent heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Onion’s sulphur compounds also prevent blood clots, which means they are are highly effective in preventing heart disease and strokes, as well as preventing blood clots in other parts of the body, like the legs and feet.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 cup zucchini, shredded & liquid squeezed out
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 medium red onion grated coarsely
• 3 big garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
• 1 tsp red curry paste (can buy in Asian section in grocery store or see recipe below)
• 2 tbsp canned coconut milk
• 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
• Butter or coconut oil for pan

Sauce

• Remainder of can of coconut milk
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp red curry paste
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp hot pepper chili flakes, or to taste
• Juice of 1 lime, plus the zest of half

Directions

• Mix the turkey, zucchini, fish sauce, onion, garlic, red onion, coconut milk, and hot pepper flakes together in a bowl. (I found it easiest to use my hands.)
• Roll the mixture into roughly 1 inch size balls (around the size of a ping pong ball) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• In a large skillet, put the olive oil or coconut oil and heat to medium. Begin placing the meat balls around the pan, be careful not to overcrowd. (I had to do a couple batches.) Brown on all sides.
• In a separate dish, mix the ingredients for the sauce. When all the meatballs are finished browning, place them all back into the pan and pour the sauce. Let simmer on medium low for about 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serves 4-6, or makes great leftovers!

Homemade Red Curry Paste

While it may seem like lot of ingredients, you can make this delicious homemade red curry sauce and store in refrigerator for use in other recipes. The many spices in this delicious recipe have very powerful antioxidant and inflammatory power. Use liberally!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 or 2 dried chilies, depending on personal preference
• 1 tsp salt
• Thumb-size piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated or minced finely
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• Olive oil to cover the paste for storing

Directions

Put the seeds and peppercorns into a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Cook for about three minutes, stirring often, until the mustard seeds start to pop and the seeds turn golden and aromatic. Tip into a bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Add the turmeric, cinnamon, paprika and dried chilies to a pestle and mortar. Add the cooled toasted spices and grind everything together into a fine powder. Add the salt.

Add grated ginger, garlic, tomato purée and white wine vinegar and mix well to make a paste.

Use immediately, or spoon the paste into a jar, cover with a layer of oil, seal with a lid and store in the fridge for up to a week.

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