Dining with the Chef

Authentic Japanese Cooking: Sweet and Sour Meatball

This episode’s theme is thickening sauces. We’ll be making light, tender meatballs, deep-fried to crunchy perfection, and serving them in a thickened sweet and sour sauce. The sauce is made with dashi for a rich Japanese-style flavor, seasoned for a combination of savory, sweet, and sour that people of all ages will love. The clear, shiny sauce adds a beautifully special feel, and with the bright colors of the red, yellow, and green bell pepper, this dish is sure to whet the appetite! For our side dish, we’ll be making green peas with eggs, a dish that combines the rich flavor of dashi with light, tender eggs, for a wonderfully delicate result. With the green of the peas and the yellow of the eggs, along with the three colors of bell pepper, these colorful dishes are perfect for early summer in Japan.