As a young child, my favorite Asian-inspired flavor combination was “sweet and sour.” I was always a fan of that orange sauce served at Chinese or Japanese restaurants, whether with fried chicken or in a stir fry. There is just something about this combination of flavors that gets me every time. While usual recipes use orange juice, sugar, and soy sauce, I thought I would change things up a bit by using pomegranate juice as the “tang” factor. Coconut Aminos, which is made from the sap of a coconut tree, also has a nice savory-sweet flavor, lending nicely to the overall taste of the dish. Unlike soy sauce, Coconut Aminos is rich in the building blocks for our muscles, otherwise known as amino acids (hence the addition of “aminos”). In fact, there are fourteen more times the amount of glutamic and threonine acid (responsible for digestion, a calm mood, & prostate health), eleven times the amount of aspartic acid (a neurotransmitter to and from cells), and eight times the amount of serine, which helps brain function. Therefore, Coconut Aminos makes for a much greater (and in my opinion, tastier) gluten-free option for anything from sauces, marinades, dressing, or simply straight up on any dish. Other than fish sauce, Coconut Aminos has the ultimate “umami” factor, in that it tantalizes all five tastes on your tongue; sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. If you have not tried it, I highly recommend it, after all, who can resist umami? Most health food stores stock Coconut Aminos, as well as Whole Foods, however, I find purchasing mine through Amazon to be much more cost effective. You can do so for yourself here. If you are interested in more delicious pomegranate recipes, I urge you to check out Erin’s recipe round up on her blog, Enjoying This Journey. Not only are all of her recipes creative and delicious, but they are Autoimmune-Paleo friendly, an ideal option for any human being!
As I said previously, I have always loved sweet and sour dishes. Not only that, but I am a lover of all-things-Asian. Though “Asian” is pretty a generic term, I truly do enjoy the flavors of Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisine, along with any other from the surrounding areas. My mother jokes that I should practically be “part Asian,” due to my deep fascination for the various flavors and dishes tied to this ethnicity. Today’s recipe utilizes green onion, ginger, and garlic, all of which are incredibly good, anti-inflammatory ingredients for your body. In fact, green onions have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries to relieve congestion, fight colds, and ease muscle tension. Ginger is also an ancient remedy for easing head and stomach aches, as well as improving blood related illnesses and joint diseases. Much like ginger, garlic is known as being “warm” in nature, and can be used to kill unwanted bacteria as well as reducing hypertension, hepatitis, and diabetes. Overall, these healing ingredients come together to create a flavorful dish that can be served as both an appetizer or main meal. Though I use arrowroot powder as a binder, this ingredient is completely optional, and can easily be removed. The glaze itself is very sticky, and when completely cooled, gets slightly gooey and thick. Therefore, to re-use any leftover glaze over vegetables, meat, fish, or even a stir fry, simply reheat on the stove in a small pot. If you are looking for any ingredients, the links located in the list below are from my affiliate Amazon store.
Sweet and Sour Glazed Meatballs
(Makes 15-20)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 4 garlic cloves – minced
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions – white part
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger – minced
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 maple syrup
- 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 3 tbsp Coconut Aminos
- 1 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
Meatball Process
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Add lamb, garlic, scallions, 3/4 tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1 tbsp maple syrup, and 1/4 cup arrowroot to a medium sized mixing bowl, using hands to fully incorporate together.
- Form into 17 meatballs and place on a baking sheet or dish.
- Once oven is hot, add to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn broiler on high, moving meatballs to the upper shelf.
- Let broil for 2-5 minutes until brown on top.
- Remove from oven and let cool while preparing the glaze.
Glaze Process
- In a medium sized pot, whisk together remaining 3 tbsp maple syrup, 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp ground ginger, along with the Coconut Aminos, pomegranate juice, and apple cider vinegar, until mixed together.
- Turn the stove to medium-high heat.
- In a small ramekin, stir together 1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot powder with water until a thick paste has formed.
- Whisk the paste into the pot mixture.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn heat down to medium-low, whisking continually to make sure no clumps form.
- Continue to whisk the mixture for 8-12 minutes until a thick glaze has formed.
- Allow to cool slightly, then baste over prepared meat balls.
- Stick each meatball with a toothpick, serve, and enjoy! *If serving later, simply heat up the meatballs up in a 350 oven for 10 minutes until warmed through
Recipe Notes
1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
1 John 4:18 is so good, and so true! Thanks for that encouragement. This recipe looks so good…can’t wait to try it!
These look absolutely delicious!! 🙂
Is there anything instead of pomegranate juice I could substitute?
I have not made it with anything other can pomegranate, however, cranberry juice might work well.
Tried cranberry juice tonight and if you like tartness, you’ll love it. But it was VERY tart. Perhaps more maple syrup but I have no idea how much.
I have some 100% cranberry and a bit of 100% pineapple. I bet I can mix the two and sub for Pom juice.
I used tamarind paste, and it worked just fine. Use a lot less of it, though, like a teaspoon or two. You probably won’t need to reduce it much, either.
These are SO good! I’m tellin’ ya, my tastebuds have been happy for days ^_^ Great job, Gabriella. Shared to my fb!
So glad to hear!! =D
What could I use in place of arrowroot powder? I can’t do arrowroot or tapioca.
Hi Tifini,
The arrowroot is used to make the meatballs fluffier, though not entirely necessary, as I have made meatballs many times without it. I am unsure what coconut flour would do, as it might make them dense by soaking up all the moisture. If you can have nuts, almond flour is always a great option, and though I have never tried tigernut, I can imagine it would be similar to that of almond.
Corn starch. If you click on the link to arrowroot powder in the ingredients list, you will find that you can substitute cup for cup.
These are so tasty, Gabriella! We just made 2 batches, one beef and one lamb.
Do you know if the sauce would maintain its integrity if it were frozen to be thawed later?
Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! Made 17 meatballs as suggested and our 2 year old ate 5 of them.
Haha…That is too great! Put a smile on my face 🙂
These were absolutely wonderful! Thank you for the recipe ? I was able to enjoy an all time favorite while watching the football game this afternoon with my family, with out cheating either! This is a keeper for sure!!! Thanks again!!
So thrilled to hear this! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe!! Do you have any suggestions of what I could use in place of pomegranate juice? I don’t have pomegranate readily on hand as I do not drink it, and I would hate to buy some knowing that I will not use any after I make these. Thanks!! P.S. I love your blog and recipes!! God bless you!!
I know someone has used cranberry juice before. Aside from that I don’t know…Thank you!!!
So I am happy to report that I went ahead and bought the pomegranate juice to use in the recipe. I am so glad I did!!! The meatballs with the sauce on them were AMAZING!!! It reminds me of the bourbon chicken that I used to get at Chinese restaurants, which I haven’t had for almost 4 years. So delicious!! In fact I will be making more for dinner tonight!! Thank you so much, I look forward to trying more of your recipes!!
This looks yummy! I’m avoiding all things coconut though…do you think they would still be good without the coconut aminos? I sure miss that stuff!
Yes definitely!
I used about 2tbsp gluten free soy sauce in place of coconut aminos. It tasted great! You can definitely add to taste though. 🙂
Did I miss somewhere in the post how much maple syrup? It says 1/4 maple syrup.
It should say 1/4 cup.
Thank you so much for these! My little boy has eosinophilic esophagitis and has to avoid sooo many foods. These were so easy and so good! I am so appreciative of creative people like you who share your gifts!
Needed something quick to make for dinner. Im on a low fodmap diet and substituted quite a few things because i didnt have many items on hand. I used cranberry juice and red wine vinegar in place of pom juice and apple cidar vinegar. Also used about 2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce in place of coconut aminos. Used ground turkey instead of lamb, corn starch in place of arrowroot powder, the green part only of green onions, and since garlic is very high fodmap, i used about a tsp of garlic and onion infused oil in the meat mixture. Because i substituted so much, i worried it wouldn’t turn out, but it tasted great!!! My (non low fodmap eating) hubby loved it! I am looking forward to making this again when I actually have the right ingredients! 🙂
I wrote this down as a keeper. tried it once at a family event and it was gone before the other main dishes were! Now I’m coming back to write it down for my recipe card file.
I subbed pureed plums instead of the juice and it was delish!
These look amazing! Curious can I sub honey for maple syrup 1 for 1?
Thank you for this! We dont follow AIP but try to eat very clean/organic and need a break from tomato recipes sometimes. I have to double the batch for 4 of us since my husband and boys have huge appetites. I made w grass fed ground beef and made extra to freeze. Thumbs up from all!! P.s. I’ve found trader Joe’s to have the cheapest pomegranate juice in a glass jar!
These are our son’s favorite meatballs! We use ground beef instead of lamb and use black cherry juice for the sauce. 🙂
I just made these for a Super Bowl party. Delicious – thank you for the recipe! Surprised how tender the lamb was. I’m putting in a small slow cooker with enough glaze to keep moist, and extra for dipping on the side. Will hopefully keep well enough… if they make it before I eat them all… 🙂
Could I cook the meatballs with the sauce already on them from the start?