Meal Ideas For Sweet & Sour Meatballs

The tangy flavor of sweet and sour sauce allow meatballs to serve equally well as an appetizer or main course.

Sweet and sour sauce is a popular flavor of Asian cuisine and is delicious when combined with hearty beef. Sweet and sour meatballs are versatile and appropriate for a casual meal at home or for entertaining the most important guests. While there are many recipes for the meatballs, the sweet and sour sauce has the same basic flavor profile almost everywhere. The sauce is used for beef, chicken, pork, seafood and as a dip for eggrolls and many other foods.

Appetizer

When served as an appetizer, sweet and sour meatballs are rolled into either 1/2-oz. or 1-oz. balls and served hot, usually over a chafing dish with a can of sterno placed underneath to heat it. The meatballs are served with other bite size hot foods such as bacon-wrapped shrimp, flavored chicken wings and mini quiche. Deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail and finger sandwiches are examples of cold appetizers that go well with sweet and sour meatballs. Appetizer forks or frilled toothpicks are provided to enjoy the meatballs.

Buffet

Buffets provide an excellent venue for serving sweet and sour meatballs and they hold up well in chafing dishes. Guests are expected take a portion of a number of different items and the sweet and sour meatballs eat well with just about any other type of food. Also, for more picky eaters, sweet and sour meatballs are a good alternative since the tangy flavor appeals to a number of people. The meatballs are typically made into a 2-oz. ball that allow guests to get as many or as few as they wish.

Asian Dinner

All members of the family -- including the youngest child -- enjoy the tangy sweet flavor of sweet and sour meatballs. For a healthier meal -- use 93 percent lean fresh ground beef and bran flakes instead of bread crumbs. The meatballs are typically made into a 3-oz. ball and generally served two to a guest. Serve steamed brown rice, edamame and snow peas with and roti bread. Roti bread, available from Asian retail stores, is made from ground grain and can be filled with chilies and onions or seasoned vegetables.

Tags: sour meatballs, sweet sour, sweet sour meatballs, sour sauce, flavor sweet