For this meatball recipe, ground chicken is leaner than other meats, but less fat doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor—these meatballs are loaded with aromatics like scallions, ginger and garlic, and served alongside delicious Chinese broccoli.
Ingredients
4 Servings
1
1
1
2
4
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1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Using your hands or a rubber spatula, gently mix garlic, chicken, soy sauce, ginger, 4 scallions, and ½ cup broth in a medium bowl just to combine. Scooping out by the tablespoonful, form mixture into 1”-diameter meatballs.
Step 2
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Step 3
Combine broccoli and red pepper flakes in same skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add meatballs and remaining 1½ cups broth. Bring broth to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through and broccoli is tender, 5–8 minutes. Serve sprinkled with more scallions.
Nutrition Per Serving
How would you rate Ginger-Chicken Meatballs with Chinese Broccoli?
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Reviews (317)
Back to TopOriginal recipe is pretty bland. Subbed dark soy sauce for low sodium soy sauce, and added white pepper to meat balls. Also increased garlic, ginger and onions. Added sautéed garlic, ginger, onion, dehydrated shiitakes, rice wine and miso to broth. Made meatballs with broth included. Used a tablespoon to portion them into pan rather than try to form balls.
Andrea
Minneapolis
12/4/2023
I have made this recipe several times and really enjoy it! After the initial time, I made a few adjustments: I found that putting the meatball mixture together and then putting in refrigerator for 30 minutes, or freezer for 10 minutes, make the forming of the meatballs easier. I also increased the garlic to 3 cloves and grated ginger to 3 teaspoons. Also added more broth once the broccolini was cooked so that it was a bit "soup-ier". With these small adjustments I absolutely love this dish!
Kristin
1/18/2022
I think if you had called this mini chicken patties with Chinese broccoli you’d have fewer complaints. It may be that higher quality ground chicken is available to Bon Apetit chefs and the texture is different. We had very moist chicken patties that tasted great. We added mint chutney to the broth fir a boost of flavor and a dab of chile oil to finish them off. Delicious. Would make again. Might parboil some white rice and mix in to get a more meatball structure next time.
Jackie B
Colorado Springs, CO
7/26/2021
I saw all the comments but this recipe looked SO GOOD, so I said, I’m going to go for it. I doubled the amount of garlic and ginger and did add the broth to the meatball mixture—they should be more explicit in the instructions that you’re really making like mini chicken patties (or explain how they formed balls from such a wet mixture). The patties are really tender, though! One other note is that the broth is a bit bland—there’s nothing in this recipe to build flavor. So, I added maybe a teaspoon or two of white miso to the broth to melt in there while it simmered and that jazzed things right up.
Kelly B
San Francisco, CA
4/20/2021
The meatballs had a nice fresh flavor, but oh my goodness they were a pain to make. If I made these again I wouldn't add any chicken stock. The mixture was almost too wet to form. Luckily they were still good once cooked, but not worth the pain of forming.
Melissa
2/20/2021
I mixed the meatballs cautiously in response to the comments, and gradually added broth to ensure the mixture remained workable. I was able to add almost the entire 1/2 cup of broth a little at a time, and I think it was an important element to the flavor and juiciness of the meatballs. The consistency for me did not allow me to form perfect balls, but I dropped dollops into the pan and lightly formed them into round shapes with a spoon, and it worked well enough. I do think the recipe is a little bland -- I added more ginger and garlic and red pepper flakes to the meatballs, and I used full-sodium broth and soy sauce. Shitake mushrooms and baby bok choi accompany this meal very well, and I loved how quick it was to make.
RC
12/15/2020
I think adding chicken broth is a disaster. I see many other people agree with me. Even the chicken without broth made me add gluten free flour to the mixture. Epic fail.
Anonymous
Vancouver
4/25/2020
Made this for dinner tonight and it was quite tasty! I just found the meatballs a bit too bland, even if I used regular soy sauce instead of reduced-sodium. Good thing I cooked a tester meatball first. I just added salt to the rest of the mixture and it was much better. I, too, was weirded out with putting broth in the chicken mixture bc it was pretty wet to work with. But it was fine as I cooked it. Also added more broth to the final soup as I felt like it didnt have enough.
dnnlyrn
Philippines
4/19/2020
I made these exactly as written, chicken broth in the meatballs and all. The broth made the meatballs tender, only took 20 minutes to cook after making the meatballs. I mixed up the chicken and other meatball ingredients a day before. SImilar to how I make crabcakes. This was a delicious lunc for my husband and I. Will make it again!
Anonymous
The Villages, FL
12/21/2019
This recipe was amazing. A lot of people said don't use the broth in the meatballs, but you absolutely should. It was soggy but when you fry them it works perfectly. I added extra broth so I put in a little extra ginger and garlic in the broth. This is going to be a staple meal in our house. It was so good.
Anonymous
Goshen IN
3/6/2019
I would make this recipe again, however, like many of the other reviews I would change quite a few things. Such as, do NOT add chicken broth to the meatball mixer. I added one egg and panko instead. I also, would add bokchoy and shitaki mushrooms. Noodles and a six minute egg would also be a great addition.
MichelleCPGarcia
Denver
3/3/2019
I think the addition of the stock must be what keeps the meatball tender and soft. I followed the instructions, though I added the stock slowly. I didi have to use a spoon and didn't bother forming balls. It turned out really nicely. Family loved it. Will do it again. If you need more depth of flavor, you can add a drop of sesame oil, or chili oil, etc.
Anonymous
Savannah
11/4/2018
This was not a very good recipe--too many flaws! The flavor profile was somewhat simplistic. Cut back on the pepper flakes, but add a little five spice powder to the meatball mixture. I followed everyone's suggestions and omitted the stock from the meatballs and the mixture was still unmanageable. Add some panko to the meatball mixture so that you can form meatballs. Even so, the meatballs were a sticky mess to brown. I had to be ever so careful to keep the fond in the bottom of the pot from burning. Add a small amount of stock (1/2 cup) to deglaze and stir up all the browned bits when you toss in the broccoli and pepper flakes. I cooked the meatballs and the entire mixture for about 15 minutes before serving. I have several recipes from Bon Appetit that are WONDERFUL! If this was the first one I had tried I probably wouldn't have tried a second.
paulkevin20
Minnesota
10/13/2018
I followed the recommendations and did not add the broth to the meatballs. They were easy to for and cooked up beautifully. My one complaint was that the meatballs were dry. I made them with fresh ground boneless skinless chicken breast and I feel that meatballs need a little more fat to be tastier. I added bok choy and was not disappointed. I will definitely make this again but try to tweak the meatballs a little.
Anne Harding
Iowa
8/13/2018
Like everyone else says, DON’T add water to the meatball mixture (why would they suggest that?!?). Otherwise, great flavor and quick prep for dinner. I used ground turkey and added bok choy and shiitakes. Winner!
Anonymous
San Francisco
4/19/2018