Pork Meatballs and Rice Soup

I can usually get children to eat things that they would not typically eat if I incorporate it into rice.  Cabbage is hidden in the meatballs and in the broth base of this soup.  Although it was not done in this batch, I would sometimes add finely chopped mushroom to the meatballs as well to provide an extra boost of nutrition.  To make it easier to eat, I cut up the pork meatballs before serving to young children.

Personally, I like the rice slightly overcooked, to the point where it splits open.  It absorbs more liquid and thickens the soup even more.  If you don't want to take the rice to this point, feel free to use a full cup of rice in the recipe.  This soup makes warm comforting lunch on a crisp fall day.

Pork Meatballs and Rice Soup

3/4 cup uncooked rice

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

1/2 of a large onion, finely chopped onion  

1 large carrot finely chopped

2 tsp. soy sauce

5 (14.5 oz.) reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

a couple one quarter inch slices of fresh ginger

1 tbsp. olive oil

For Meatballs:

1 lb. ground pork

1/3 cup finely chopped scallion

3/4 tsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

1/2 scant tsp. salt

1/2 scant tsp. pepper

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 egg

Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl.  Roll into 1” to 1.25” meatballs.  Set aside.

Add oil to a large pan on medium heat.  Add onion, carrot, and cabbage.  Sauté for two minutes.  Stir in rice and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and ginger slices.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil on high heat, stir, and reduce heat to medium low.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add meatballs, stirring gently.  Bring to a second boil on high.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 or so minutes.  Remove ginger slices before serving.

Mini Pork Aracini, Asian Style

Aracini is an Italian fried rice ball often stuffed with cheese, with or without meat.  I have put my own little twist and created an Asian version, filled with pork meatballs and no cheese.   To keep it on the lighter side, they are baked, not fried.  

Aborio rice is commonly used to make aracini, but I find that regular white grain rice works well.  All it needs is a little bit of manipulation to bring out the starch to help with binding.  My technique is revealed in below.

I decided to make mini aracini mainly because it is easier for little children to handle and eat.  I have made 2" - 2.5" inch wide ones in the past that turned out really nice.  Just a word of caution, since there is no cheese to bind the rice layer, it might have a tendency to break apart when bitten into if the layer is too thick.  Don't go too thick on the rice.

We enjoy the aracinis as is, but if you must have sauce, a tasty ginger dipping sauce recipe is included below.   Since the ginger sauce might be a little on the exotic side for a lot of children, the sweeter duck sauce is a good alternative.  The little ones I feed prefer the aracini without  sauce.

Mini Pork Aracini, Asian Style

8 oz. ground pork

1/3 cup minced button mushrooms

1 tbsp. flaxseed meal

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. salt 

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups water

2 eggs

1cup panko crumbs

Boil water in a heavy bottom small saucepan.  Add rice and lower heat to medium low.  Give rice a stir for about 10 seconds.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow rice to sit for 5 minutes.  To bring out the starchiness, use a rubber spatula to stir rice and gently press  as you stir until it becomes sticky, should take about 1 minute.  Spread on a cookie sheet to cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Add panko crumbs and bake for 3-4 minutes until panko turns light brown.   Remove from oven and stir crumbs around using a spatula.  Set aside.

For the pork filling, place first nine ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add one egg, slightly beaten.  Thoroughly combine all ingredients. 

Slightly beat the second egg and add to cooled rice.  Thoroughly blend.  Scoop about a rounded tablespoon of rice into your palm and form a ball.  Hollow out the ball using a finger to create a well.  To prevent sticking, wet hands with water before handling rice.  Fill well with about 1 teaspoon of the pork filling.  Pack the rice around the pork filling.  Set aside.  Repeat steps for the remainder rice balls.

Roll each aracini in panko crumbs.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Coat aracinis with a generous layer of cooking spray.  Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 25 minutes or until pork is  no longer pink when cut into. Makes about 24, approx. 1.5” to 1.75” arancinis.

Ginger Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp. grated ginger

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. finely chopped scallion, greens only

1 tbsp. super fine sugar

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well until sugar is well incorporated.  Allow to rest 15 – 20 minutes before serving.

Tuna Fried Rice

I swear, when I gave this dish to a group of four toddlers and preschoolers for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by the result.  Not only did ALL of them finished their serving, but 3 asked for seconds!!  If you want to introduce tuna to a child, try this first!  I believe the soy sauce is the key because it masks the taste of the tuna. Additionally, the super sweet corn adds a nice contrast to the saltiness of the dish, and all the children can taste is deliciousness.

Note:  Tuna, while nutritious, contains some amount of mercury and should be eaten in limited quantities.  This recipe uses only one 5 oz. can of tuna for about 10 half cup servings, therefore, I feel comfortable serving this once or twice a month.  The American Pregnancy Association’s web page has recommendations on portion size and frequency of tuna consumption.

Tuna Fried Rice

4 cups refrigerated cooked rice

1 5-oz. canned tuna, drained and flaked with fork

2 eggs

1 tbsp. milk

3/4 cup super sweet canned corn, drained

3 tbsp. cup finely chopped scallion (greens only)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. soy sauce

olive oil

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Coat the bottom of pan with oil.  In a small bowl, whisk milk and eggs.   Add to skillet, allow bottom of eggs to set and become lightly golden, about 2 minutes.  Flip eggs over and cook for about 15 seconds.  Remove from heat and  chop eggs using spatula.  Transfer to a plate.

To the same pan, on medium high heat, add oil to coat bottom.  Add scallion, stirring for 2 minutes.  Add rice, corn, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and soy sauce.  Stir until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Add tuna and eggs, gently stirring for another 2 minutes.  Serve.

Fish in a Bowl

Kids I know who don't eat fish like this dish.  Why?  Because it looks unassuming so they are not afraid to try it.  Once they have taken a bite, they realize that it really does taste good.  Every child who eats rice has eaten this dish for me.  Using a mild white fish allows it to blend into the rice, introducing children to the flavor of fish without it being overpowering.  Increase the amount of fish as the child acquires a taste for it.

When it comes to cooking rice, in my opinion, the best way is to use a rice cooker.  It’s foolproof!  But, there were times that I wanted to challenge myself by making it from scratch.  It has always proven to be a gamble, often times with disastrous results…too crunchy, too dry, too wet, or too sticky.  I finally figured the method that worked best for me.  The trick is to use a heavy bottom pan with a tight fitting lid and just the right amount of heat.

Fish in a Bowl

 4 oz. haddock, pat dried

1/8 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups water

1 tsp. olive oil

1 generous tbsp. margarine

Salt to taste

Bring water to a hard boil.  Turn heat down to medium low to low range.  Add rice and stir for 30 seconds.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  DO NOT OPEN LID!  Turn off heat, allow to sit for 5 minutes, and fluff with a fork. 

Combine flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder on a plate.  Dredge fish in flour mixture and pat off excess.  Heat a small frying pan on medium high heat and add olive oil.  Add fish and sear till golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side depending on thickness. 

Flake fish into fine pieces using two forks.  Stir into rice.  Season with margarine and salt to taste.