Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers: Japanese Meatballs

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Japanese Meatballs

I was making hamburgers last night and decided to hold back a little of the ground meat for lunchbox meatballs.

A recipe in Harumi Kurihara *'s cookbook Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking calls for mixing ground beef and pork with onions, breadcrumbs, butter, milk and egg; and then topping it with a teriyaki sauce (1 cup mirin, 1/2 cup soy sauce and 2 tbs of superfine sugar). Whoa, that is way too complicated for me, especially when you've got really great meat to work with.

I just added a couple teaspoons of soy sauce to the meat, mixed it in and made about 10 little 1-inch meatballs. They went on the grill with the burgers. I could barely keep my kids from devouring them all after dinner, and even my sandwich-only kid (the 9-year-old, who apparently thinks tortellini and other leftovers are for baby's lunches) wanted them in his lunch. "They're so good," he said, and I quote, "I can't stop eating them."

These could be a great staple. You could pack them with rice balls, some cut-up fruits and vegetables, and have a great lunch. I'm sure Biggie over at Lunchinabox freezes them, cooked, and takes them out in the morning to thaw in the lunchbox. Not a bad idea.

* The so-called "Japanese Martha Stewart"

2 comments:

Rowena said...: This looks really good. I think my kids would even eat it. I think I might like it too.

What do you serve it with? Rice noodles? how do you prepare those?; June 13, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Larissa said...: They are delicious! I'm sure you would love them! You could serve with anything. Vegetables, rice, or a salad... Most rice noodles have directions in English on the package. If they don't, I usually just boil them and keep checking for when they are done.; June 13, 2008 at 11:38 AM

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The Mothership Method

(Or, how to sit down for dinner with your family without completely losing your mind)

It would be great if kids AND parents wanted boiled chicken and baby carrots every night for dinner. But, too bad, we picky parents want spicy, exotic, fun foods, and our kids want, well, sorta lame foods.
Here's the solution: break it down. Serve the dish deconstructed, and let everyone put their own dish together at the table. Sort of like tapas, or smorgasbord, or tacos. Or how in some parts of China you get a bowl of rice, and everything else is in the middle of the table and you take what you want for your own little bowl of rice. That way everyone gets to eat what they want, parents don't have to nag their kids, and kids get to feels some ownership over their meals. Plus, kids get exposed to the look and taste of the foods you hope they will one day love. But it's not just tacos. You'll be amazed at what can be served with the Mothership Method.

Ten Tips to Get Through Dinner Without Having A Nervous Breakdown

1. Accept That Kids Are Picky. No need to freak out on your cooking ability, or look at your kids like there is something wrong with them. It's called "neo-phobia", and it's just how they are, especially from ages 3-6.

2. Serve Meals Broken Down. Even grown-up meals like coconut curry or linguine with clams can be served in their elements, making them more appealing to kids. Grown ups can assemble their own jumble of deliciousness at their own plate while kids take on the pared-down elements.

3. Push if it Works, But Don't Nag If It Doesn't. Some kids are okay with being expected to taste everything on their plate. Others aren't. I think it's okay to push kids -- but not if you're turning dinner into a battlefield.

4. Suggest a Smell. Smelling a new food is easier than tasting it, and can sometimes provide a kid with the information needed to take that scary first bite. But don't confine smelling to new foods. Smell favorites, too, and help them develop their sense of smell by making a game out of it.

5. Don't Ask "Do You Like It?" Instead, try, "What does this remind you of?" or, "Would your cousins like this?" or, "Does this taste salty or sweet?". Asking if they like it or not gives kids too much power and ends the conversation. Besides, we don't care if they like it! We just want them to keep tasting it until it is familiar.

6. Don't Get Frustrated. Imagine being in Taiwan, or Nairobi, or Rome for the first time. Would you eat everything on the local menu? New foods are scary and gross. Our kids need time to learn about the foods that we eat.

7. No SubstitutionsThis is family dinner, not a diner. You, in all your wisdom, have provided foods that are healthy and delicious and appropriate for your children. There is something on the table for them to eat. Period.

8. No Snacks Before Dinner. This can be the hardest with our hectic schedules and hungry kids. But children who come to the table hungry are more likely to eat than cause trouble.

9. Put Peer Pressure To Your Advantage. School children are more likely to accept new foods if the alpha girls in their group accept them. Swap healthy food ideas on playdates.

10. Involve Your Kids In Cooking, Shopping, and Gardening. The more experience kids have handling and preparing a variety of foods, the more likely they are to eventually accept the foods. (But don't get upset if they help you make a complicated wonderful meal, and then refuse to eat it.)