Asian Pork Meaballs with Asian Tofu and Romaine Salad (Recipe)
Ingredients for Meatballs:
- ½ pound ground pork
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 T pork panko (finely ground pork rinds)
Mix pork with soy sauce and sesame oil and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Add pork panko and mix well. Gently form into 6 meatballs.
Pre-heat air fryer on 385F. When hot, add meatballs and air fry for 12 minutes, turning once gently. Check internal temperature of meatballs to make sure it’s at least 145F. Air fryers vary so cook according to your appliance; I’m using the Instant Pot Duo Crisp Air Fryer (it’s an Instant Pot, but with an air fryer lid).
Asian Salad:
- Romaine lettuce
- Red peppers
- Green onion
- Cucumber
Toss chopped vegetables with dressing then add tofu and gently toss again.
Asian Salad Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Swerve brown sugar sweetener (I used 2 squirts of liquid Splenda Stevia instead) ***
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tsp roasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp Chu Hou Paste (optional)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Shake ingredients well in a small jar. Pour enough dressing on salad to nicely coat vegetables and tofu cubes when tossed.
*** Some kind of sweetener is necessary to create a true Asian flavour.
Marinated Tofu:
- ½ pound medium-firm tofu, cubed
Marinade:
- 2 T soy sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 2 T rice vinegar
Marinate tofu for 30 minutes or so, even overnight is fine. After adding the dressing to the salad and tossing well, add the marinated, cubed tofu and gently toss again.
If you can tolerate a few more carbs, you can add a few chopped roasted peanuts to the salad as a garnish. You can also add 1/2 T of peanut butter to the tofu marinade... or even to the salad dressing.