I found frozen meatballs as I was unpacking our grocery bags. Obviously A grabbed a pack as it says ‘Italian Meatballs.’ Oh well I know right away it can’t be truly Italian. I fried a ball and yeah it has some Chinese sausage flavor in it. Not bad. Not bad but definitely un-Italian. I’m quite sure if I serve them plain and fried with ketchup they’d eat only few pieces. (Or maybe I am speaking for myself hehehehe…) And so my sweet and sour sauce saves the day! Also good for lumpiang shanghai, fried chicken nuggets, etc.

Ingredients:
A pack of frozen meatballs
1 cup of pineapple juice
1/4 cup of ketchup
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup of vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
Salt & pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
3-4 tbsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup of water

Heat oil in a non-stick pan until smoking hot. Roll the meatballs over high heat until brown. Do not overcook or the meatballs will become too dry. Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, mix the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil. You may throw in few if not all of the pre-cooked meatballs and simmer until the sauce is thick. I serve it with blanched asparagus and plain rice.

I either steam or blanch asparagus. To blanch, drop cut or trimmed asparagus into a pot of boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes depending on how thick the stalks are. Transfer to a strainer and dip into a bowl of ice water or under running cold water to stop the cooking process. Serve these crispy blanched veggies.

And just in case you wanna cook home-made meatballs… here’s the recipe:

Ingredients for Home-made Meatballs:
Lean ground beef (or pork)
Minced garlic
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Freshly ground peppercorns
Salt

Combine the above ingredients and mix thoroughly using your fingers until smooth. Shape into 1-inch diameter balls. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan until smoking hot. Roll the meatballs over high heat to firm them out and until brown. Again, do not overcook or the meatballs will become too dry. Drain and set aside. Cook the sauce and meatballs as indicated above. Enjoy!

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.