Easy Indonesian Beef Meatballs with classic sweet, spicy and umami Nasi Goreng flavors, served with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce!
These little spicy beef meatballs are packed with so much flavor and are great as starter recipes or side dish recipes for any party or gathering.
Everybody loves a good get together. Good friends with good food is a recipe for good times. But not many like to play host. I love entertaining too, but not the work that goes into it.
These beef meatballs are great to make ahead
That’s why I LOVE a great make ahead recipe that’s easy and you can get most of the work done a day (or two) ahead, with very little prep work on the day itself.
Meatballs are always a crowd favorite party food idea. Like these cocktail meatballs and my flavor-packed meatball curry recipe that are an easy choice for get togethers and pot lucks.
Summer is on the wane for those of us in the Northern hemisphere and that could mean any of several things to you. Thank god the kids are back in school, one last hurrah before summer bids adieu for another year, stubborn refusal to accept summer is over, shorter days and more pleasant weather that’s just around the corner, and labor day for a no-labor celebration.
If any one of more of these apply to you, I’ve got one kick ass recipe for you today! It’s an AMAZING appetizer recipe with a flavor-packed Asian twist that can be made ahead of time for a fun get together or a weekend filled with BBQs, fun cocktails, wine, good food and good company.
Indonesian beef meatballs
These Indonesian Beef Meatballs with Nasi Goreng flavors, and served with an incredible sweet and spicy dipping sauce, are the perfect flavorful party appetizer! (You can also check out these delicious cocktail meatballs for a fantastic party platter!).
Nasi goreng is the Indonesian version of Chinese fried rice, but with an explosion of flavor that’s headlined by spicy, sweet, salty and some incomparable umami flavors from the ketjap manis (Indonesian soy sauce), sambal oelek (a spicy Asian chili sauce), cayenne pepper, fish sauce etc.
These are all ingredients that you can easily find at your local Asian grocery store. There’s so much flavor here that Nasi goreng was once the runner-up for the readers’ choice in an online poll by CNN for the ‘World’s 50 best foods’!
The other great thing about these Indonesian beef meatballs is that they are so versatile. They can be pan fried, oven baked, or even grilled, so they’re great for any BBQ that you have planned for the tail end of summer.
Plus get this, they can even be served cold too! So you can cook them a day ahead and keep the in the fridge overnight, and then serve at your get together or party the following day.
The flavors will still be the same. It’s a recipe that’s fun, easy and honestly there’s no way to go wrong with it. So whatever you have planned for the labor-day weekend or your next summer get-together, these will keep your guests happy. 🙂
I wanted a wine that pairs brilliantly with the spicy, sweet flavors of these Nasi Goreng Beef Meatballs and a Cabernet Sauvignon was the perfect choice!
So go ahead and have a stress-free time with your friends and family at your next summer get-together with this Indonesian beef meatballs recipe that can be made ahead.
A casual cocktail and tapas-style party is my favorite way to entertain. So some great wine-pairings are a must.
Use some simple, disposable (biodegradable) plates, so there’s less clean up to worry about afterwards.
And most importantly, some great finger foods like these nasi goreng beef meatballs that everyone will love, that’ll also taste great even when cold!
More party appetizer ideas
- Sri Lankan fish cutlets (spicy fish croquettes that are great hot or at room temperature)
Easy, no-bake dessert ideas for a party
- Fruity popsicles like these peach melba popsicles, lychee cantaloupe popsicles, or spicy pineapple popsicles
- Or creamy popsicles like these vanilla popsicles, or butterscotch oreo popsicles, or iced coffee popsicles
Recipe
Indonesian Beef Meatballs
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Beef Meatballs
- 500 g ground beef with at least 15% fat
- 2 tbsp sambal oelek Indonesian hot chili sauce
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper less if you prefer it to be less spicy
- 1 tsp garlic powder or 3–4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ½ medium yellow onion about 120 g, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ketjap manis Indonesian sweet soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- Generous pinch of nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp dark brown sugar or palm sugar
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Dipping Sauce
- 1 yellow onion about 200 g, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp sambal oelek
- 1 tbsp chili flakes/crushed red pepper use less if you prefer it to be less spicy
- ¼ tsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or 1 tbsp packed dark brown/light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ketjap manis
- ½ tsp fish sauce
- Water to thin out the sauce
Instructions:
Beef Meatballs
- Place finely chopped onions on a clean serviette or cheesecloth and squeeze out as much of the moisture from them. Then add the onions into a big bowl.
- Add all the ingredients of the spice mix, the breadcrumbs and beef, and mix to combine.
- Using a 2 inch cookie scooper, scoop out the meatball mix and roll it into balls. You should get about 24 – 28 meatballs, depending on the size.
- Let the meatballs rest for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours in the fridge (covered).
- Pan frying – heat a couple of tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan. Place a few meatballs in the pan (must be cooked in batches) and cook for 5 – 6 minutes, turning them every few minutes for even browning.
- Oven – preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the meatballs about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 – 30 minutes, flipping them over once halfway through.
- Let the meatballs rest for a few minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
- These can be stored in the fridge, but leave them out at room temperature before you serve them.
Dipping Sauce
- Heat a non-stick pan with 2 – 3 tbsp oil. Heat over medium heat. Place the onions in the pan and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes while stirring until the onions reduce and caramelize. Add the sambal oelek, chili flakes/crushed red pepper, sugar and ginger, and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, ketjap manis and fish sauce, and mix well and let it come to a simmer. The sweet and spicy dipping sauce should be thick in consistency.
- Add extra water to thin it out if needed. Serve the dipping sauce warm.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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