Coconut Gochujang Chicken Meatballs

Coconut gochujang chicken meatballs curry with broccoli. This 30-minute dish is an easy to make yet most flavorful weeknight dinner. Made with melt-in-your-mouth tender meatballs and spicy gochujang paste combined with coconut milk, which mellows the spicy paste into a funky-spicy-sweet cream sauce. Serve over rice for a surprising result.

The key ingredient in this dish is the Korean gochujang, a red chili paste made with fermented soybeans. It’s sticky and thick, and when mixed with coconut milk, it creates a thrilling taste. I chose broccoli as the accompaniment vegetable, but cauliflower or spinach would also work. 

It’s super easy to make. We pan-sear the meatballs, cook the sauce, add broccoli and simmer everything in one pot to create a super flavorful meal. Enjoy served with noodles, rice or cauliflower rice and a cucumber salad.

This is a spicy dish, but not sweat-breaking-on-your-forehead-spicy, but if you’re a heat-lover, you can opt for a spicier heat level if you want and add more gochujang paste. Or if you want just some little heat, start by adding 1 tablespoon to the sauce.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.

RECIPE NOTES

• if you’re a heat-lover, you can opt to add more gochujang paste. Or if you want just a little heat, start by adding 1 tablespoon to the sauce
• instead of broccoli add sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, turnips, zucchini, spinach or green beans
• swap ground chicken for pork or use the sauce with grilled pork ribs, shrimp or seared chicken fillets
• serve over noodles or rice and add a cucumber salad

Try These Next

• Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
• Thai Coconut Salmon Curry
• Spicy Garlic Shiitake Noodles

Cooking Video

Yield: serves 4

Coconut Gochujang Chicken Meatballs

Print

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken Meatballs

• 450/1 pound ground chicken
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp each: garlic powder, black pepper

Coconut Gochujang Sauce

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp each: salt, black pepper
• ½ tsp each: ground cumin, turmeric
• 120 ml/½ cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp gochujang paste, less or more to taste
• 1 can (400ml/14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 small broccoli, cut into small pieces
• cilantro leaves, for serving

Instructions

1. Get all the prep done before you start cooking: cut the broccoli into florets, then into small pieces. Grate ginger and garlic cloves.
   Add the ingredients for the meatballs to a large bowl. Mix until just combined, using your hands. Roll the meat into 2-tablespoon sized balls. Will make about 20 meatballs.
2. Heat oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes, turning them frequently. Remove from skillet.
3. Reduce the heat, add garlic and ginger, sweat for 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, cumin and turmeric. Stir to combine, about 1 minute. Turn the heat to medium and pour in broth, simmer for 2 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon while scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and gochujang paste, stir until combined. Next pour in coconut milk and add lime juice. Bring to a simmer.
4. Add broccoli and meatballs. Simmer over medium heat until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes. 
5. Finish off with cilantro and serve over rice. Add a cucumber salad, enjoy!

Notes

Calories Per Serving: 368 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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