Shitake Meatballs

Meatballs are incredibly versatile. Every time I roll into a Chinese grocery, I buy some of the old favourites. The most recent trip ended with eight kilos of jasmine rice, a couple cans of unidentifiable fruit, and a bag of dried shitake mushrooms. This recipe is better with fresh mushrooms, but the dried did the trick on a whim.

Makes about 24 small meatballs

10 small/medium shitake mushrooms (or 6 large) hydrated and chopped fine
1 1/2 lbs ground meat (pork and beef are best)
2 eggs
3 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine
2 tsp salt

1/4 c soy sauce
2 tbsp flour
1/2 - 1 c water
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix the mushrooms, meat, eggs, ginger, and salt into a large bowl, combining the ingredients with your hands. Form them into small balls (3/4 inch diameter). Bring a large, heavy skillet to maximum heat (the surface of the pan should just begin to smoke) then instantly reduce the heat to medium, add 2 tbsp of oil (preferably peanut) and add enough balls to fill the pan without having them all touch (we need some space to flip each one). You want to sear one side of the ball with the intensely hot pan, then let the medium heat take over and cook it half through. Flip the balls once, increasing the heat if it seems that the ball is cooking through before the outside is dark brown. Remove the balls before they are cooked through and add the next batch until all of the balls are finished. If you're busy, just drizzle some soy sauce over them (about half of the 1/4 cup prescribed) and let them sit for a few minutes before serving with rice. Otherwise, I recommend making the sauce...

In a small bowl, combine the flour with a tsp of the soy, mixing until thick. Add a little more liquid, keep mixing. Repeat, ensuring that no lumps exist, until all of the soy is added. Increase the heat in the meatball skillet to maximum just until before the drippings from the balls begin to smoke: immediately add the soy and flour mixture, stirring vigorously and adding water as the sauce thickens. Reduce heat, add the crushed garlic and simmer. Serve over the balls on rice.